Training 6/3 - 6/9

The week started out strong, but ended with a setback. My right Achilles really tightened up on me at the end of my run on Thursday. (IT-band trouble was in the other leg.) With my main focus more than 4 months away, I'm being extremely cautious and shutting things down until I'm 100% pain-free. Not sure if it's a case of "too much too soon", the change in stride or a combination of the two. Either way, it's a bit annoying, and I'm hopeful it won't escalate beyond that. Icing as I type.

Onto the numbers...

6/3, Sunday: 9 - 1:06:27, Bike Path. Looking for a moderate effort with a dose of speed, after the first two miles, I added a 2:00 pick up at each mile. Opening mile was 7:57, but then averaged 7:23 for the duration of the run. It's all downhill from my house to the Bike Path, which means you-know-what on the way back. Admittedly, this was a bit harder than I had hoped, but definitely a workout I'd like to repeat. Due to the rain and wind, I had the Bike Path to myself, which never happens, and I was probably the last person out there before it flooded.

6/4, Monday: 7 - 1:09:37, 14x Mt. Ararat. Considerably slower than last week, but that was dictated by the conditions more than my condition. It was raining heavily, and the downhill sections were extremely muddy and slippery. I only ran the "backside" twice since the bog bridges were green ice and the mud was over my ankles in many places—not really conducive to a steady pace. After Sunday's effort, I thought I'd be a little more off as I was creaky at first, but once I got moving I felt pretty decent. I nearly called it at about 4 miles as another downpour had me borderline hypothermic. Thankfully, the rain stopped or diminish to a heavy mist, and I was able to complete the workout.

6/5, Tuesday: 6.75 - 55:16, Back Cove & Eastern Prom + 5x 100 strides. Due to the aforementioned rain, we moved the TMR TNR from Twin Brook to keep from trashing those trails. Good, easy run with a smallish group, including Ian, Jeff, Zak, Nathan & Sara. Well, it was mostly easy except for when the damn ultrarunners had to run up and down every little hill. "Oh look! Steps!" Strides felt great post-run, and I was in the car just as it started pouring.

6/6, Wednesday: Off. Did a new/revised/augmented core workout. It is the devil.

6/7, Thursday: 10.75 - 1:41:12, Head of Tide Park/Cathance Trails. Somewhat random out and back, but I wanted to see the effects of the rain on some notable sections of the Cathance River. I was able to check out the famed Cathance & Pancakes stream crossing, and it was uncrossable. Right now, we'd need to use Jamie as a raft and Jeremy as the paddle. I felt like garbage right out of the gate, and nearly bagged the entire run at 1.5 miles. Held it together, and actually got rolling pretty comfortably later on. Took my time on this one with decent breaks to check out the falls at Head of Tide and the narrows at Barnes Leap. Crazy amount of water. I was even wading in a couple spots. At about 7 miles, I could feel my right Achilles start barking. It hurt mainly on the downhills. Stretched it as best I could and iced it that evening.

6/8, Friday: Off. Achilles didn't feel right.

6/9, Saturday: Off. Achilles still twingy, so another zero.

Total: 33.5
Trail: 24.5
Road: 9

Good start. Bad finish.

Of note: I'm hungry. I can really tell the training volume has bumped up, as I'm eating non-stop. Friday, in particular, was out of control: I ate two lunches, snacked until dinner, and ate more after dinner. Hopefully, all those extra calories will go straight to my Achilles.