Week 5 Training

Week 4 was a rest week for me.  Just 22 miles logged, mostly on the treadmill.  I traveled for work the whole week, so it was tough to get just 30 mins a day on the hamster wheel.

Training Week 5
Feb 3- Feb 9

2/3/14
Mon - AM: 6 Road miles
Cold day, easy run.  Just down Monument and back Patterson.  Trails are still nasty from the rain and snow.

2/4/14
Tues - AM: 4 mi easy
Very easy run today.  Everything is smooth and easy as we start to ramp up miles in the coming days.

2/5/14
Wed - AM: 6 mi Speed work
This was my first speed workout of the year.  Very cold out and cloudy.  Getting very tired of the bitter chill in the air.  I went over to the lake in Maymount Park and did .25 mi repeats (5) at 10K pace. Its about 1.5 mi warm up there and coming back I did the last mile in tempo pace, sub 7min/mile.  Very good, first hard run.

2/6/14
Thurs - PM: 4mi easy
Just an easy 4 today to recover from yesterday and gear up for Fri, Sat, and Sun.

2/7/14
Fri - AM: 10mi road
Very early morning run.  Forgot my headlamp, so I had to be very patient in the beginning, as the sidewalks in the fan sucks and are easy to trip and fall.  As the sun came up, I was able to stretch out the stride and go harder.  I went through the fan down to Monument up to Libbe and back down Patterson.  I finished up with the 2 mi loop that Jaclyn and I do.  8:10 avg the whole way, which I'm happy with, considering the first few miles were slow.  Legs feel good.

2/8/14
Sat - AM: 15mi road
Taking Jaclyn up to DC later, so had to get this in early.  Headed over the Nickel Bridge and west on Riverside.  Amazing houses and rolling steep hills.  Turned around at the main road 1.8 in and headed back east on Riverside past Forest hill park and over to the Mayan ruins/14th street bridge.  Hit Brown's isle and up the steep steps to VCU gym.  Main to Lombardy to Monument and home.  Great run, legs started to really feel the hills around mile 10.  Tough push home keeping 8:15 pace.

2/9/14
Sun - PM: 15mi road
I knew today was going to be a tough run.  I could feel the miles on my legs, but I knew that this feeling I have now will be nothing like mile 60 at the Keys 100.  Another cold day.  Got home from DC around 11am and suited up for the tough push.  Even though my legs were tired, I felt comfortable for the first 10 miles.  The hills were the real pain for me.  My pace got faster as I went though.  Around mile 12, I felt completely exhausted.  I thought to myself that I need more runs like this to get myself prepared for that 'edge' that I'm going to have to take myself to and go beyond.  Last few miles I actually sped up, cause I just wanted to get this over with.

61.1 miles - 8:16

Great Training week.  Started easy, got in some speed work, and finished long.  Very tired of this bitter weather.  Probably drank a few too many beers this week, but oh well.  Next few weeks its going to be critical that I listen to my body and plan my miles out as work gets busy and distances get longer.  I didn't get on the trails at all this week.  They were nasty and time didn't permit.  I hope this week I can get on them a few times.

Training weeks 2 & 3

Training Week:  2

Jan 13 - Jan 19

1/13/14

Mon-AM: 1500m Swim

Hit the pool this morning.  1500m of easy swimming with two 5 min efforts and 10 x 50 on 1:00.  Nothing special, just get back easy.  Looking forward to some passes across Lake Gaston this summer. 

PM: 5mi trail run

Parked at the Nickel Bridge and headed down the north side trail.  Went to the last section before the big mud puddles toward the end and turned around.  Felt good being on the trails.  Thought I was running fast, but the watch told me otherwise.  Humbled. 

1/14/14

Tues-AM: 4mi road

Rain came down hard this morning.  Ran 4 miles smooth and easy, holding back most of the time.  Didn't look at the watch at all until I was finished and pleased to see I was 8:45 pace, right on the dot.  Exactly where I want to be for the first 50 of the Keys 100

PM: 6.5 mi trail

With mud all over the trails, I knew this too would be an easy stroll through the woods.  Parked at the Nickel bridge and went down buttermilk trail to forest hill park loop.  Love being on these trails.  My pace was very slow, but I wanted it that way.  Really need to practice patience.  

1/15/14

Wed-AM: 1500m Swim

Continuing the theme of easy swimming, I did 3 x 300s swim, pull, paddles with 6 x 50s on 1:15 with hard effort.  Easy warm up and cool down after.  Stroke felt better, but sloppy toward the end on the workout.  To be expected.  

PM: REST 

1/16/14

Thurs-AM: 5.5mi group run

Jimmy and Capt met me at the house for another early morning run.  Cold.  Went down to the bridge and over to Maymount and back around the lake.  All road with about .5 on the trail.  Legs felt good after yesterdays rest.  

PM-  Went skiing with Jac

AMAZING!!  love skiing.  Crashed a few times.  I like to go fast and not so great at stopping.  So much fun with Jaclyn and Melissa. 

1/17/14

Fri-AM: 5.3mi road

Really wanted to ease up today and run smooth with little effort.  Didn't look at the pace at all. Went down Monument to Libbie and back Patterson.  When I was done with the run I was surprised that my pace was 8:20.  Felt much slower. 

PM: 5.3mi road

Ran the same run from this morning.  Again, everything easy.  Pace was a little slower than this morning but the whole run was done with little effort. 

1/18/14

Sat-AM: 2.1mi

Did an easy 2.1 miles with Jaclyn today for Meg's Miles.  Meg was a local woman killed by a drunk driver out for her morning run this week.  Very sad.  Love these runs with Jac as they help to flush out all the soreness and lactate in the legs.  

PM: 20 min Row

Did a row session today.  Easy 20 mins with one 500m hard effort.  Avg 1:52 for the hard and 2:12 for the whole time.  Really enjoy having the rower in the basement.  

1/19/14

Sun-PM: 12.8mi Trail/road

Ran down to the trails and out to the 14th street bridge towards the Mayan ruins.  From there, headed west on buttermilk back to the nickel bridge and then back home.  Felt ok.  Not great.  A lot colder than I thought, especially with the wind.  Good to get out for a long one though.  

Totals - 46.7 - 7:11

Great second week.  Mixed it up with some longer stuff and back to back runs.  First long run was good.  looking forward to get over 20 miles and doing it easily.  Fitness is coming back though.  This next week is going to the last of three weeks training and then a rest week, so need to stay focused.  

Training Week:  3

Jan 20 - Jan 26

1/20/14

Mon-AM: Rest

Travel to Blue Bell, PA.  All day work

1/21/14

Tues-AM:  4mi Treadmill

Early miles on the treadmill before work.  Very easy running

1/22/14

Wed-AM: 6 mi Treadmill

More easy running on the treadmill before work.  Its 5 degrees outside anyway, so I wouldn't be going outside even if I could.  Traveling back home today. A lot of snow everywhere.  Looking forward to getting on the snow packed trails

1/23/14

Thurs-PM: 10.3 mi James River trail loop

Leaving from the house, its an easy 10 miles down to the river trails and back.  I do this loop many times, and still love it.  Has climbs, rolling hills, trail, road, and flat sections.  I didn't move real fast today, as the snow and ice was a challenge to navigate.  Legs feel like I'm getting back in great shape.  

1/24/14

Fri-PM:  4mi Trail

Easy 4 miles today.  Legs felt great.  A lot of quickness, giving me the feeling like fitness is really coming back to me.  Still very cold out here, so lots of snow and ice everywhere.  

1/25/14

Sat-AM: 20.8mi Trail/road

Jimmy and I set out from the house and headed down to the trails with water, gels, and gear in tow.  We did two big loops of the trails and then headed back up to the house.  We both felt like it was a hard grind the whole day.  Def didn't feel like I did yesterday.  Our average pace was slow, but with all the ice and snow, along with feel bad, it was actually a great mental and physical training day.  

1/26/14

Sun-AM: Recovery-Rest

Decided to take the day off.  I could run, but I have a flight this afternoon and wanted to see Jaclyn (as I will be gone for a week).  

Totals - 45.3mi    7:16

Great week, especially with all the travel and weather.  Really feel like I'm ready for the next round of training.  Have a rest week coming up, and will mostly just get 30 min treadmill runs in with only easy running.  I have 60-65-70 mile weeks coming up, so I want to be fully recovered for these.  

Training Week:  1

Jan 6 - Jan 12

1/6/14

Mon-AM: 3mi easy.  

Ran with Jaclyn up through Cary Street and around down Blvd and Monument. Great first run back.  Easy 10/mi pace.  Nasty rain and wind, but warm

PM:  3mi easy

With an easy run this morning I wanted to get a feeling of how I felt at what will be my Key West race pace of 8:45/mi.  Ran down Monument and back through Patterson.  Felt good, but not great.  

1/7/14

Tues-AM: 4mi easy

I wanted to see how 8:45/mi would feel again.  I head down Monument and back Patterson again.  Thats kind of my staple afternoon road course.  Easy traffic signals to navigate and pace to keep.  Felt ok, not great.  I think its just the first few runs back and cob webs to get worked out.  I am though, really happy to feel like I am back to training again. 

1/7/14

Wed-PM: 4+ mi

Finally got back down to the trails.  Ran Buttermilk from the nickel bridge parking lot.  Turned around at the Forest Hill parking lot.  I really like this route, as there isn't really anything flat.  All up and down hills that really test the lungs and heart.  I kept an easy pace, trying to pull back most of the time.  

1/7/14

Thurs-AM: 5.5mi group run

Early morning run with Jimmy and Will.  Love being out this early.  Feels like a ghost town, like you own the city, when everyone else is sleeping and you are training.  This was an easy run.  Couldn't really get warmed up till about 3 miles into the run.  Headed down Blvd to the river and across to other side of Maymont Park.  Ran around the lake on the way back.  Hills really challenged the legs, but felt really good the last mile.  Great running with Jimmy and Will, as always.  

1/7/14

Fri-AM: 2mi easy

Jaclyn and I did 2 easy miles, on our traditional route around our house.  Its a great way to wake up and get the legs warmed up for the day.  

PM: 4 mi - smooth & easy

This was the first run where I felt completely smooth and running an easy effort.  I didn't look at the watch for my pace the whole time, and finished with a 8:32/mi avg.  Very happy with that in this first week.  I am starting to really itch for those long runs though.  

1/7/14

Sat-AM: 3.5mi w Jaclyn

With it pouring rain outside, Jaclyn and I took off for an easy 3.5mi effort.  It was warm out though, so that made the wet clothes a little more tolerable to wear. 60 degrees.  We saw Jimmy flying by extremely fast.  I just have to stay focused on my plan and I too will be running fast soon.  Legs felt great, but I tweaked my knee stretching and can feel some discomfort. 

1/7/14

Sun-AM: 6mi easy/fast

Parked at the Nickel Bridge with Jac and headed out and back on buttermilk nice and easy.  Ran the rest of the way home with a good tempo pace - 7:30/mi.  Felt good.  Knee tweak is feeling ok, need to apply more heat and ice after runs though.  

Totals - 36.3mi - 5:49.16

Week Goals :  First week back from 3 weeks of rest (sort of, I did get some light runs in).  I wanted to get just 35 miles in as I start to ramp up the miles soon.  I tweaked my knee a little, I think while stretching.  Applying heat before runs, and ice after helps a lot.  Nothing major, doesn't hurt while running.  Great first week back.  Happy to be back training again and itching to go further and faster.  In due time.