Training Week 6/27 - 7/3

Good building week, this week. More importantly, the runs were varied. Previous to the epiphanies, all my runs were basically the same: easy mileage. That's not going to get it done. I didn't come up with Jeff's 57 different run categories, but it was more varied. Because of that, it seemed a little easier to pack in the mileage. Still not a big week, but I don't want to do too much after three down weeks.

Onto the numbers:

6/27, Sunday: 5 - 44:07, Homeplace Loop. Consciously ran very easy. Along with varying the runs, I need to make sure that my easy runs really are easy.

6/28, Monday: 8 - 1:04:14, Meadow Cross Road Loop. This run started out as a tempo run, but after three miles I was just hoping to survive. It was hot, and I felt like total crap. I barely felt like I was lifting my feet off the pavement. So, instead of the 7:30-7:40 miles I was shooting for, I just tried to keep moving forward. Total bummer.

6/29, Tuesday: Off. Scheduling was not on my side this day. Seriously considered going out for a night run (because you never know when the skill might come in handy), but instead, I read Western States 100 race reports. Training by osmosis.

6/30, Wednesday: 5 - 43:38, Homeplace Loop. Another easy run on what's becoming my go-to loop. Felt a bit tight, but otherwise just fine. The most important part of today's entry is strength work—actual pushups and other pumpitude. I know, I'm somewhat amazed myself.

7/1, Thursday: 7.5 total. Great Glen Trails Spring Trail Running Series: 3.7 - 25:56; 2.25 warmup/1.5 cooldown. Ended up with my fastest time on this course after the worst warmup ever. I felt sluggish, creaky and awful on the warmup. In fact, I seriously considering bagging the race altogether. I popped a bunch of pretzels and M&M's in between and just went for it. Felt great during the race and shaved about 40 seconds off my previous best. Felt great on the cooldown, too. I have no idea.

7/2, Friday: 6 - 56:45, 9x Mt. Ararat. I'm really looking to up my hill training, so what better way than to run up a mountain? Unfortunately, this mountain is only about 220' feet above sea level. Living on the coast of Maine has its disadvantages. The plan for this run was to run comfortably, certainly not a hill interval workout. To break the monotony I varied my route to the summit, but I always climbed by the steepest route. As expected, I was a touch tired, but it was a good workout. I'll definitely be repeating this one and also extending it. Unfortunately, however, even with 9 summits of the mighty Mt. Ararat, I only managed about 650 feet of vertical in 6 miles. That seems pretty lame. Granted, about a mile of that (to and from my house) is totally flat, but I was hoping for more.


7/3, Saturday: 3 - 25:14, Suck Loop. BLECH. Worst three miles ever. I only had a brief window to squeeze a run in, so I was out the door shortly after rolling out of bed. I would have liked to have put in a few more miles, but perhaps it's a good thing I didn't have more time. Oh well. My entire right leg was very tight, and I felt like I weighed about 400 pounds. Hopefully, that was just a fluke.

Totals:
Miles: 34.5
Trail: 23.5
Road: 11

So, again, good building week, slowly ramping up the mileage. And, speaking of that, the only thing missing from the week was a true long run. That will come. Tough to squeeze it all in. I think all races should have a separate category for parents with the age groups based on the age of your child.

Other then the running part, I've been doing "ALOT" of thinking about running. More specifically, what do I like about it? The answer is pretty simple: exploring and wandering. Give me a trail, and let's check it out. I'm going to use this basic philosophy to tailor my training and pick my races. Sounds like a lot more fun than track workouts and road races with 5,000 people. Not that you can't be into that sort of thing. Just not my style. Of course, this means races that are longer in nature. You know, ultr...

TUNES!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEY0pKb-XoU