As I said to Mindy today, "I'm not back, but I'm mobile." Today marks the end of three weeks of actual running. Nothing earth-shattering, but I'm certainly not complaining. I did break the 30-mile barrier last week and bumped it up a bit more this week. I figured that warranted a long-lost training post, which I haven't written in three months.
Onto the numbers...
8/7, Sunday: 5 - 39:40, Highland Green. This loop is just about the flattest, easiest route I can tolerate. And, in reality, it's become a good barometer for how I'm feeling at any given point in the week. 40:00 is my benchmark. Just ducked under that mark on this day, despite my legs feeling a bit heavy.
8/8, Monday: 12 - 2:10:57, Bradbury Bruiser (w/o Island & O Trails) + Bradbury Squall. D and I were able to align our schedules to get out for a run together. Her hope was 16, but she just wasn't feeling it. My plan was 8-10 as a first long run test. The result was a great run for me, but not so much for her. I felt smooth and easy for most of the way. I could feel the miles near the end, but that was to be expected. Psychologically, it felt great to feel like a runner again: I used my handheld, popped a couple gels. Good stuff. Hopefully, this feeling will repeat itself on my next long run.
8/9, Tuesday: 5.5 - 47:51, TMR TNR @ Twin Brook. Prior to the run, I got a massage from Julia. It was great to hear that I'm not totally screwed up. More stretching, foam rolling and wrestling with a tennis ball is in the plan. Interestingly, she found a lot of tightness in my hips and glutes, and not the horrible monsters I expected in my calves and hamstrings. Anyway, it was awesome and hugely helpful. Of course, before I left, she made me promise to take it easy on the run. I dutifully obeyed and felt great during the run. Ran the whole time with Jamie, Ian and Jim and was in danger of getting a side stitch from laughing.
8/10, Wednesday: Off, planned
8/11, Thursday: 6.25 - 55:21, Mt. Ararat x12. With the feeling that I've lost all my snowshoeing strength, my hope is to hit Mt. Ararat at least once a week. It's the biggest hill near me, so multiple laps it is. I've devised three separate laps, and I actually really enjoy running them. Clearly, I have issues. While I still feel relatively weak, I actually felt much stronger on this run than a 10-lap outing last week. Like I said, not back, but mobile.
8/12, Friday: 5 - 39:00, Highland Green. I was anxious to see how my legs felt after the Mt. Ararat laps, and while my quads were a bit sore, in general, I felt fine. Easily sub-40:00. A very good sign.
8/13, Saturday, 4.5 - 58:20, 1/2 Bradbury Breaker. After marking the outer loop of the course with Jim, I met up with Mindy and Val who were running the Ultra Xtreeem Bradbury Bad Ass, aka all three courses at once, because they're bad asses. They had already run the 6-mile Scuffle and completed one lap of the Breaker, and I was happy to jump in for the second Breaker lap. Jim joined us for half the lap, and it was fun to catch up with everyone. Pace was very easy...well, not if you're running 27 miles. Great way to wrap up the week.
Totals:
Miles: 38.25
Trail: 29.25
Road: 10
Knock on wood, that's a good start. The plan is to throw in a few tests and a few long runs in the coming weeks. Strength is the focus. Regardless, it feels good to be running again.
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