That's what I have to say about this past week. If you recall from my last post, I closed out the week finishing 4/13 with the longest (distance-wise) training run of my life on Sunday. It was also the longest week of my training cycle thus far. I had decided that I wanted to run tired this week, and put in some serious intensity while my legs were tired from the prior week.
And that's what I did. It's been a huge week for my confidence. Not only did I run the long run on Sunday, I put in three "intensity" workouts this week including my longish run on Saturday. This, as might be expected, left me exhausted on Sunday, still tired on Monday, and slightly off full form today (Tuesday).
Monday: No running. I went to the gym and did thirty minutes on the elliptical trainer. The machine said I went approximately 3 miles (how it computes this I don't know). A decent way to get a low-impact workout post long run. Next time I'll probably try either cycling or rowing.
Tuesday: 7.5 miles, 55 minutes. This was the same hill/fartlek course I've been doing for the last month or so, but I added yet another hill repeat on this week. I have been running down a cobblestone street the last few times on this course, wondering why I don't run up it. So, naturally, I did. I kept it pretty easy on the flats and the downhills this time, which explains the longer time. But the hills themselves were still run at a sharp pace.
Wednesday: 5.5 miles, 42 minutes easy.
Thursday: 8 miles, 58 minutes. 3x800, 4x400, 3x800. First half was mostly downhill, second half was mostly uphill. I lost some of my splits, so the last few are estimates: 3x800 (2:47, 2:45, 2:49), 4x400 (1:11, 1:12, 1:16, 1:15), 3x800 (2:51, 2:55 (est) 2:42 (est)) .
I started not quite sure whether I would be able to get through the workout. My legs were not feeling particularly springy. So I took the first set of 800s out at a moderate pace. Then I blew it out of the tubes on the 400s, and picked up the pieces on the second set of 800s. All in all a very satisfying workout (particularly the last 800, which I think may have been yet faster).
Friday: 6 miles, 47 minutes easy. I've started finding it hard to keep slow enough on my easy days. I want to hit between 7:30 and 8 minute pace on my easy runs, but find myself holding back to do so. I'm thinking this is a good sign.
Saturday: 12.5 miles, 1:37. Long run with up-tempo sections. Took it out slowly from home down to the Mississippi Gorge, then went slightly up-tempo around the gorge loop that I do so often, and hit it harder on the way back up Summit. I ran the River Gorge loop (about 5.5 miles) in 45 minutes at an up-tempo pace, which did not stop me from pausing at certain points to explore places I had never noticed before during the winter (due to snow cover).
Strava says that my pace on this section was around 8:30, which is fair but not indicative of how quickly I was running where I could. It turns out (go figure) that the Mississippi is pretty high right now, and has flooded a few of the trails that I would normally run, leading to some interesting bushwhacking sections.
The final 3.5 miles up Summit and home I hit it at closer to half-marathon to marathon pace. Despite tired legs, I managed a 7:10 for the hardest uphill, followed by 6:50, 6:37, and 6:31 for the last half mile. Not half bad, for me.
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| River is running high. |
This next weekend I plan to push out the long run yet farther. I had a plan to run five loops of the River Gorge, which would make it mentally easier to quit (something I want to get through) and physically easier to deal with nutrition. It would also provide 4 aid stopes at my car, mirroring the 4 aid stations during the race. The only issue I can think of now is that there is a race going on at the same time, on nearly the same course. I am not sure how much that'll impact my running plan, but I'll have to keep it in mind.
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