This week didn't turn out quite as I had hoped due to the trials and tribulations of work, travel and general life scheduling. However, one of the keys this week was to be sure I was fully recovered from my marathon distance run at the GAC Fat Ass. (I'm pretty certain I'm not Italian.) Things seemed to be falling into place nicely early in the week, but the end of the week has left some question marks.
Onto the numbers...
1/9, Sunday: 5 - 44:31, Weldon Farm Road with D. Necessary recovery run. This run was a tale of two bodies. I actually felt relatively springy and had no muscle soreness, two great signs, but my hamstrings were awful. Strange because they hadn't bothered me all that much during the previous day's long run.
1/10, Monday: 5 - 50:50, Brunswick Town Commons. Instead of doing a medium-long run today, I wanted to be certain I was recovering properly, so I took another easy day. Unfortunately, the normally very mellow loop in the Commons was sketchy ice and ankle breakers most of the way. Even with screw shoes, the footing was treacherous, and I had to pay close attention with each step. This kept the pace very slow, and I was bummed to not be able to roll through the Commons as easily as I normally would. My hamstrings felt much better, however.
1/11, Tuesday: 6.5 total, 3k snowshoe race. Second week of Nordic Meisters was a mirror image of the first week: I ran the workout in reverse, starting with the longer warmup. My strategy was to take stock on the warmup to determine how hard I would hit the race portion. I felt great, including my hamstrings, so I decided to crank it up a notch. I ended up running 17:55 for the 3k, which was considerably faster, but I know there was a lot more in the tank. The limiting factor on my speed was not me, but rather the snow conditions. Even though the trails are firm, the snow cover is fairly lean, which means that the sidehills (of which there is a large amount) are not really filled in, making them very tricky. And, not wanting to kill myself during a Tuesday workout, I focused on staying upright rather than hitting those sections hard. It got dark during my cool down, and I was pretty chilly by the end.
1/12, Wednesday: Off. 14-16 inches of snow fell.
1/13, Thursday: 5.25 - 1:07:22, Mt. Ararat Snowshoe Loops. According to the Pfitz Plan, I probably should have hit the roads today for a medium-long, slightly up tempo effort, but with road conditions still poor from the previous day's storm, I opted for a snowshoe run. And, in reality, how could I not get on the snowshoes after such a big storm? I "groomed" a .5 loop around the Mt. Ararat trails, and after the third lap or so it became quite runnable. About 1/3 of the loop includes a snowmobile trail, so it was nice to take advantage of their "grooming" as well. Although, with so much new snow at once, the snowmobile trail is also quite soft. Great to get out in the snow, and would have done a couple more laps if I'd had more time. Worst part of the run was carrying my snowshoes home with wet gloves...brrrrrr. Do they really need to plow that .35 stretch?
1/14, Friday: 5 - 42:16, Mt. Ararat High School Loops. Back to Mt. Ararat today, but this time on the roads around the middle and high schools. I was really short on time after a day of meetings and travel for work, but before D go home with the kiddo. (I made dinner still dressed in all my running clothes.) I obviously hadn't eaten enough during the day as I felt flat and had no energy. 8-minute miles on this completely flat loop were a struggle. Plus, I'd been either sitting in a car or in meetings all day, and my hamstrings let me know. My stride felt awkward and forced. Just not a good run.
1/15, Saturday: 11 - 1:33:16, Meadow Cross + River Road. 4° when I left the house in a foul mood. I had originally hoped to get in at least 18 today, but we didn't have enough time for both D and I to get all our miles in before she headed to work and, frankly, I wasn't really up for it. Not a bad pace for a cold morning with no mojo, but I never really enjoyed myself on this run. Normally, I'll have a "this is awesome" moment on every run, but not today. Trudge, trudge, trudge. My hamstrings were a mess and are seemingly riding a roller coaster of tightness. I was completely frosted over by the end, so at least I looked hardcore.
Totals:
Miles: 38
Trail: 16.75
Road: 21.25
Like I said, decent start to the week and then clunkers the last two days. I feel like I was smart with my marathon recovery and the last two days are their own issues, but it's so tough to tell. Aside from the hamstrings, the bummerness could be mental as I didn't want the mileage to drop that much this week, and I never got a long run in. I'm hoping for more consistency. That being said, I did have two great snowshoe efforts midweek, so what those workouts lack in mileage they make up for in strength/intensity/awesomeness. Hoping for a rebound next week.
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