Training Week 5/16 - 5/22

Semi-sorta-kinda moderate week. See, my training is very specific...

Onto the numbers...

5/16, Sunday: 5 - 42:32, Homeplace Loop. Nice day, but windy along the powerlines. And, it is somehow always in your face in both directions. Overall, I felt a bit sluggish, but much less tight.

5/17, Monday: 6 total, 6 x Mt. Ararat. Devised a section for some hillwork that is .25 long with a trail to use for a more gentle descent. Plan was to make it moderately difficult, but not really busting it. 6 repeats in 1:51 (oops), 2:03, 2:00, 2:02, 2:04, 2:02. Felt like I could have handle another 2 or 3 at that pace. 1.75 warm up and cool down.

5/18, Tuesday: 3 - 23:57, Suck Loop. Good.

5/19, Wednesday: Off, but the tightness that had been in my right calf—then went away—had found a new home in my right hamstring. Very tight.

5/20, Thursday: 6.75 total, Spring Trail Running Series at Great Glen Trails. My original plan was to do some type of longer tempo run, but decided that one more hard effort wouldn't hurt. Still tight going in, my hamstring actually felt better as I went along. That being said, my head just wasn't in the game, as I didn't have the mental edge to really push it. I was subconsciously (and consciously) thinking about Pineland, so I didn't see the point in really making it hurt. With that, however, I was only about 20 seconds slower. 3.6 miles: 26:56. 2 mile warm up / 1.25 mile cool down.

5/21, Friday: 3 - 23:42, Suck Loop. Very tight to start out, but loosened up nicely.

5/22, Saturday: 5 - 42:12, Bike Path with Sam in the B.O.B. Felt good, despite battling the wind. Wasn't sure how many miles I was going to get in, but since Sam didn't fall asleep until about 2 miles into the run, a 5 mile run meant she got about a 30 minute nap. Worked out pretty well.

Totals:
Miles: 28.75
Trail: 17.75
Road: 11

Overall, nothing too exciting for the week. The tightness in the hamstring was a bit shocking and unsettling. Seems to be working itself out, though. Mentally, however, the week was a totally different story. I have two very conflicting threads running through my thoughts of late.

First, my level of uncertainty/concern/fear over Pineland is high. I have no idea if my training has been "correct." I really don't know how I'm going to feel on race day. I definitely have some strength built up from snowshoeing, and I ran mostly comfortably in the half marathon 8 weeks ago. Since then, I feel like my "speed" has increased, but I'm not sure I haven't gone too far in that direction. Maybe I should be running the 10k on Saturday instead? And, yeah, I'd really like to run well and significantly faster than I ran in 2008, so there's some internal pressure.

The second thread is the complete opposite: I'm feeling pretty good about my running right now. In fact, I feel like I'm back to where I was in college. My times aren't as "fast," but the position feels about the same: the front of the middle. On a good day, I may sneak up to the bottom of the first tier. I'll take that. I also feel like I finally remember how much I can really push. How good I am at suffering. The two-mile workout last week really highlighted that. So, I know at Pineland, I'll be able to suffer with the best of them. At races now, I feel like I'm racing, not just participating. Big difference. Plus, the other day, D told me that I looked skinny. Being an 87-pound midget, I consider her an expert on these things.

So, yeah, I'm all over the place. Maybe it's taperitis.

No tunes this week. Instead, here's a video I made for the Bradbury Scuffle. I've jumped on board to help Ian as Assistant Race Director this year...you know, get him coffee, make copies, that sort of thing...

Bradbury Scuffle from sn0m8n on Vimeo.