1/13 - 1/19

Mon: 3.5-miles, 6-miles
Tues: 6x800m (3:10,07,07,07,08,08), 4x400m (90, 90, 89, 93)
Wed: 3.5-miles
Thurs: 12-miles (warmup + 4.25-miles @ MP + cooldown + 4-miles w/ Matt)
Fri: 3.5-miles + stretching
Sat: 15-miles
Sun: 9-miles
Total: 58.5 miles

Highest weekly mileage in over a year! And longest long run since the summer! And I feel pretty good! I went to see Elaine (chiropractor and runner) on Wednesday, and she adjusted everything from my head down to my ankle. It seemed to help my hamstring a lot... still a little tight but not nearly has bad. I also realized that my right ankle as a very reduced range of motion. And, she showed me some breathing exercises to do because apparently some of my hamstring pain can be attributed to my lack of breathing (when I'm not breathing well, my core isn't stabilizing me, and I'm relying on other muscles too much)... dangit, I just thought not breathing sucked because I wasn't breathing!

Anyways, Monday's runs felt surprisingly good, especially the "lunchtime" run. It was perfect weather, and it was nice to run when it was sunny out! I had originally been a bit upset with myself for not getting my butt out of bed in the morning. However, since we didn't have to go to Durham this Monday (like we will for the next several months), I ran from the lab before lunch. It was probably the best I've felt in a while, and I realize that when I run during the winter, I seldom see the sun. I might have to delay my "junk miles" run more often! I tried to run at noon on Friday, but we had too much going on in the lab. Friday's run felt pretty good considering Thursday's run.

Tuesday's track workout went reasonably well. My repeats were generally faster than last week, and I did more longer repeats. It was nice to run with people again, although it was weird because Allison and I were the lead pacers (the "fast" group wasn't there). I realized that I usually pace off of them. However, we managed to stay pretty consistent, although Allison definitely was pulling ahead of me by the end. My legs were pretty much done after the 5th 800. I'm guessing my endurance for faster stuff will come back as my mileage increases. 

I didn't run Wednesday night. I had run in the morning before going to Elaine's to loosen up a bit after the track workout. And, truth be told, Elaine had recommended either skipping Wednesday night or doing the run very, very easy. This provided a pretty good excuse for skipping running and grabbing dinner with Kyle and Zane. And, even though I kind of felt like a slacker, I enjoyed catching up with them much more than running 6-miles easy.

However, because I skipped running on Wednesday night, I decided to actually do the MLR recommended on the Boston training plan. I modified it a bit to include 30min at marathon pace (which is really part of Sunday's workout). Thursday is usually my tempo day, and I doubt I will feel like / be able to run at marathon pace on Sunday after running long on Saturday. So, I skipped North Hills (which was also convenient for not further aggravating my hamstring) and ran from the lab. I broke the run up a bit... 8-miles with the middle 4-miles at marathon pace (on the track), and then back to the lab to collect Matt for 4 more miles. The 4-miles @ MP was actually a bit faster than they should have been. My splits were 7:02, 7:11, 7:12, and 7:16... concluding with a 97sec final lap (for 4.25-miles total). My goal was 7:20 pace, and even this is a pretty unrealistic goal. If I averaged 7:30 during Boston, I would be thrilled. I was pretty tired at the end of the first 6ish miles, and would have liked to stop after the cooldown. The short break to collect Matt lifted my spirits, and I ate an apple because I was starting to get pretty hungry (and I usually eat an apple around 5PM before I go running). The first 3ish miles were ok, a bit stiff, but not awful. The last mile was torture. I was exhausted. Being that last week's 13-miles is the longest I've run since the beginning of November, running 12-miles with some tempo in the first half was probably a tall order.

I did my long run on Saturday, adding 2 more miles from last week. I ran the first 10.5 miles with Jason, got some water, then headed up towards the Art Museum to get the last 4.5 miles in. I had been "nervous" about running these miles by myself since it was my longest run in some time. I like the distraction of running with other people on long runs, especially when I'm tired. Left to my own devices, I tend to spiral into tiredness. Luckily, Team in Training was doing their run from the Art Museum, so I saw them all the way up Reedy Creek. Then, when I got to the Art Museum, I ran into my friend Dave and ran with him until I turned over the bridge. That only left me running a little over 2 miles by myself, which I can handle. However, coming back down Reedy Creek, I was debating whether I could still feel my legs or not. I was pretty tired.

Sunday's run went pretty well too. Matt ran with us for the first two miles, Dave turned a little after three miles, and I ran with Newt and Allison until the water fountain (I had only intended to do 8 miles, but I wanted water). On the way back, I tried to pick it up a little bit until the gate. From my splits, it looks like I did that.

So, a pretty good week of training all and all. I actually ran 3.5 miles longer than I was intending to in the beginning of the week. But, I miss running with Matt!