Training Week 7/4 - 7/10

Another solid, building week. It wasn't big in terms of mileage, but it was strong and varied. Very pleased.

Onto the numbers:

7/4, Sunday: 5 - 46:02, Homeplace Loop. Just a nice, easy run.

7/5, Monday: 10 - 3:17:01 (approximately), Baldface Circle Trail in Evans Notch. Totally and completely kicked my butt. About 3700' of elevation on a really hot day. Thankfully, Jim, Jamie, Chuck and Erik were kind enough to wait for me on the climb up South Baldface. Heat and climbing are not my favorites, and it showed. I hung in a bit better on the descent, but by that time my legs were rubber. I dipped my hat and Buff in every stream I could find to cool off. I was very happy to reach Emerald Pool to cool off at the end of the loop. It was a tough day for me, but exactly what I need. I just couldn't maintain the same pace as those guys, but, overall, I felt good. My energy was good, and I stayed well hydrated thanks to a 22oz handheld and 70oz in my Nathan pack. In fact, I didn't even completely drain the 70oz of HEED. I managed the heat, well, too, which is always a challenge for me. So, again, I was slow, but I'm pretty pleased with how I fared. Hopefully, I'll be able to get in a few more mountain runs this summer as it's a great way to work on my biggest weakness. Oh, and it was beautiful. Pics on my Facebook page.



7/6, Tuesday: 6 total, White Mountain Milers Inov-8 Summer Series, 5k - 22:24; 2 mile warm up / 1 mile cool down. Admittedly, running this "race" the day after the Baldfaces wasn't the best idea. Didn't I mention temps were in the 90's? However, I didn't go all out and actually felt OK. All right, my legs were trashed, specifically, my quads, but I shut it down after two miles. The first mile is pancake flat, and I was feeling like a tough guy: 6:32. Bad idea. I attempted to run hard up the only, but long, hill that makes up a good portion of the second mile, but when I saw my two-mile split: 14:20ish, I knew I needed to back off. That was way too slow for as hard as I was working, and I didn't want to overdo it. A number of people cruised passed me in the final mile, but I didn't care because none of them ran the Baldfaces the day before. Good test, though, and I passed.

7/7, Wednesday: 3 - 26:29, Suck Loop. Quads still sore, so I made it a short, very easy day. Good decision.

7/8, Thursday: Off, but I did sneak in some strength work. Don't worry. I'm shocked, too.

7/9, Friday: 5 - 1:28:14, marking the Bradbury Scuffle course with Valerie. Additional strength quotient to this run due to carrying 4 million orange flags. Despite the oppressive humidity (and my excessive sweating) and the horrible deer flies, we had fun, and I was very happy to have some help. Valerie was great company, and we laughed and joked the entire time. Course marking takes a long time, but the run part felt fine. My quads were no longer sore.

7/10, Saturday: 3.75 - 35:37, random loop at Great Glen Trails. With the Bradbury Scuffle on Sunday, I decided to take another mellow day in hopes of putting a little freshness back in my legs. (It worked.) It rained quite heavily during my run, and I was actually a bit cold near the end, so I cut it a bit short. Felt very easy and relaxed, though.

Totals:
Miles: 32.75
Trail: 29.75
Road: 3

So, again, not a big week, but a tough, smart week. I'll take that anytime.

Tunes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfGSqUmcqDk

OK, not retro at all. Get over it. In fact, the retro tune series may be morphing into what Ryan is listening to this week. Thrilling, I know...