Monday, December 16, 2013

12/9 - 12/15

Mon: 6-miles
Tues: 3x2000m progression (8:10, 8:09, 8:13)
Wed: 6-miles
Thurs: 7-miles (3-mile tempo + 2-mile tempo)
Fri: 4-miles
Sat: 12-miles
Sun: 7-miles (w/ some single track)
Total: 48-miles

Highest mileage week since the first week in October... wahooo! I hit my goal of upper-40's, but most of it was pretty slow. It was disgusting on Monday. Only Newt, Matt, and I showed up, and we decided to take it easy and run with Big Mike (or Tall Mike really, he's not proportionately that big). The easy part was nice, the cold and rain was not. Plus, I think we hit every freaking light possible. Needless to say, I felt pretty miserable by the end of the run. Wednesday's run felt good, but I didn't realize we were going that slow! Oh well, I guess if I'm trying to build a base, then I should worry about miles and not pace. Since I didn't get a double in Monday or Wednesday (like I was hoping to), I decided to "make up" the miles on Friday. Plus, I was experimenting with Dydula's observation that running everyday made him feel looser, and his runs were going better... and Friday's run felt fine.

Tuesday's track workout went... eh. At least it wasn't raining, but it was kind of cold and windy. I didn't feel well all day either (well, really for a few days); my throat hurt and I had a slight bit of a cough. That did not make the longer repeats easy, especially since we were supposed to be getting faster throughout. The goal of the workout was to start at half-marathon pace (for me, 6:50) and drop 10sec/mile every 500m. So, aside from the wonky math that works out to (which I did figure out in excel ahead of time), trying to hit paces in the dark is kind of hard. The first one was probably the only one I did right. The second one was way too fast through the mile, and the last lap was definitely slower than the fourth. I was pretty dead by the last repeat, and my breathing wasn't great. Also, I realized after the first 200m that I forgot to reset my watch. I was a few seconds fast through 1200m, but I have no clue about the mile split. I pushed with everything I had the last 400m, and hit 8:13, which was the right total time. I'm pretty sure though that I ran pretty much the same pace for the whole repeat. I was definitely dead after that one, and it took a while for me to get my breathing back. The longer repeats are definitely harder for me. But, Allison was there! It was nice to run/talk with her again.

I have no idea what was up with my watch on Thursday. The first four miles look right (1E + 3T). Then we did an easy few minutes. I thought I stated my watch when we started tempo-ing again, but when I looked down when we turned from Glenwood to Peace St., my watch was reading the actual time of day, so I figured I must not have hit start hard enough. So, I didn't worry about my watch for the rest of the run and deiced to go off of what Matt had. Oddly though, my watch was reading something, although my tempo splits are off. Matt had himself at ~7:10 pace for the last 2-mile tempo section. I'm guessing I was at ~7:20 pace (I didn't finish too far behind him, but he was definitely waiting at the top of Cameron Village for a bit longer). All and all, I am pretty happy with that run. Although the first 3-mile tempo was mostly downhill to flat, my pace was pretty good, and we did have to head up some hills on Boylan. A 7:20 pace from Glenwood to the intersection of Clark and Brooks is pretty good considering all of the freaking hills. And, I didn't feel like I was dying on either of those tempo sections.

Saturday's run felt ok. I was just tired (and coughing a lot at the end... Broll and Jim said I looked really pale when I got back inside... not sure if I was just cold or what). The Galloway run was from the store, so that meant we had to get our run in early. The original workout that Broll had come up with was 100min w/ last 20min at tempo. Then, he didn't show up. Dydula wanted to run long and easy, so we headed out with him. Brandon and I (and Matt in spirit... he had stopped at Crabtree to use the bathroom) turned at 6-miles, and Dydula kept going. I tried to pick it up a little on the way back, and looking at the splits, it looks like I did. Matt apparently tempo-ed back to Longstreet to catch us... poor Matt!

Sunday's run was ok too. There was a free trail run in Umstead, and coach thought it would be a good idea for us to "mingle" with other runners. Well, the majority of our group dropped Newt, Dave, and I (none of us are good trail runners) after ~0.25-miles. Then, the three of us took a wrong turn. After ~3.5miles of trail running, we had popped back out and said screw it and took the bridle path back. Although I know trail running is good "cross training", I can only take so much of it before my injury risk goes up. It also makes me appreciate roads. I would be dead if I had to get everywhere on single track trails!

So, this week went pretty good. Lots of slow miles, which I'm not sure how I feel about, but my legs are feeling better. I didn't get a double in (maybe next week), but I ran everyday. I also added an ab workout to my routine 3 days a week, except I do one set in the morning and one set at night (honestly, one set takes me close to 15min!). If my abs hurting means I'm getting stronger, then I'm getting stronger.  

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