All you Grand Prix’ers out there might best remember Brian Harvey from winning the Stowe 8 Miler in 2010 (40:50) and again in 2011 (41:06). While you might not see him on the line for all of the higher profile Grand Prix races, he’s still out there getting it done on the roads and out on the track.

Brian has been quite busy so far in 2012. He represented the US of A over in Ireland this past February, running two races across the pond. The first was the Armagh Road Race, in which he placed 5th with a 14:00. The US team came in 2nd, and Brian had a note about the awards ceremony in his log: “The race director then awarded the USA the first place team trophy. A few minutes later, we thought about the scores more closely. They score top 3 individuals. We went 2-4-5 and England went 1-3-6. England seemed to realize the error at the same time and I sadly had to go swap trophies with the English.” I hope Brian softly whispered “1776″ when the exchange was made, just to keep old George Washington from spinning in his grave.

Brian's a blur on a the international scene (courtesy of Diana Davis)

A couple of days later, Brian was back at it for the Ras na hEireann 6k cross country race. There he ran an 18:03 (4:50 pace and good for 2nd place), and Team USA won! Later (March), Brian ended up winning the Ras na hEireann USA 5k in Somerville, MA with a 14:35. At the Sam Howell Invitation on 4/6 Brian ran the 5k and placed 5th with a 14:13, and then at the BAA 5k on 4/15 he placed 14th with his 14:26. Not bad for a guy who’s just getting started on this season’s racing.

This Intervals session was done on April 19, 2012, with a whole cast of characters either working out with him or doing their own thing: Chorney, Hocking and Shea, just to name a few. Here’s Brian, taking the lead:

Goal: 800, 1600, 800, 1600, 800 at 2:14, 4:30, 2:12, 4:25, 2:10
Rest: 2:30 after the 800s, 3:30 after the 1600s.

Actual:
2:13.5 [2:25 rest]
4:30.9 [3:32]
2:13.7 [2:48]
4:29.0 [3:39]
2:10.7

I did this workout with David Chorney and Dan Hocking at Harvard. I was very nervous all week and had trouble being productive at work the day of in anticipation. I knew it was going to be a very tough one and wanted a solid workout to boost my confidence heading into the Payton Jordan 5K. The weather was pretty good (60s and sunny). We had a headwind on the backstretch (I think between 10-13mph) which felt strong on some laps but didn’t notice on others. Chorney and I switched off leading.

800 – 2:13.5 – I got out too fast (31-high through 200, 65-66 through 400). It felt okay but I relaxed on the second lap to hit 2:13.5. I didn’t want to push myself too hard so early. (2:25 rest)

1600 – 4:30.9 – Chorney took us through 800 on pace (2:15) and then I took over the lead. I tried to maintain pace and came through 1200 in around 3:23-24. I closed hard the last 150 to hit 4:30.9. (3:32 rest)

800 – 2:13.7 – I went through the 200 and 400 (66) on pace but slowed from 400 to 600 into the wind. Tried to make it up in the last 200 but fell a couple seconds short. I knew the next 1600 would be the hardest and most important interval of the workout so I tried to mentally prepare myself for it to hurt a lot. I switched from flats (Adidas Adios) into spikes (Adidas Avanti 2) here as well. (2:48 rest)

1600 – 4:29.0 – Chorney took us through around 66 but we slowed a little bit on the second lap and hit 2:14-15.  I took over and tried to pick it up a little bit but only managed to come through in 3:22-23. At 1400, I saw that I needed a 28-29 last 200 to hit 4:25. At that moment, it seemed possible to me. I felt like I was moving fast but only managed a 32-33 and was 4 seconds off the goal. A little disappointed that I didn’t push a little harder on this one (especially on the third lap). (3:39 rest)

800 – 2:10.7 – Chorney took us through around 65-flat and then I took over. I definitely slowed again from 400 to 600 but really pushed hard the last 100 to hit the goal.

It was great having Chorney and Dan to join me on this one. For the 1600s, I was able to turn my brain off for the first 800 which really helped. Overall, I am generally pleased with the workout despite not hitting every goal time. I felt pretty good but not great throughout. This was the first time I’ve done this workout and it was a fun one. It allowed me to get in a good amount of work close to goal 5k pace. Immediately afterwards I was not as tired as I expected I would be but then was really hurting the next day. I’m feeling ready to leave everything I’ve got on the track in Palo Alto on Sunday.

Warm-up = Three miles with Dan, Chorney, and Terry including 800 of 100 on/off (which did not feel good).
Cool-down = Four-plus miles with Dan, Chorney, and then Terry, Jared, and Sean.

Wow, Dan Hocking shows up everywhere, huh?  We’re definitely going to have to get him his own segment very soon!  After the workout, David Chorney had this to say about his session with Brian:

Rounding a corner at the 2010 BAA 5k (courtesy of Joel Wolpert)

Thanks to Brian and David for contributing to this week’s edition of Intervals. This was a nasty workout by Brian and Dave, and their narrative provides some great insight into a challenging session. I know I’ve had my share of days when I couldn’t stop thinking about that night’s workout, and it’s comforting to read that even guys much faster than me go through the same thing.  We look forward to Brian’s 5k race this Sunday at the Payton Jordan Invitational and will have more coverage for you on that meet.