9/20-9/26

I ran 59.7 miles and nearly got my goal of 60-65 miles. I will shoot for the same this next week.

Monday: 8.1mi (58:10) Really easy. I felt really good except the last mile or so. I was planning on doing a second run today but punted because of how I felt.
Tuesday: 8.1mi (58..) Easy run again today. I felt a bit off.

Wednesday:

• AM - 3mi (22:30) Easy run to shake out the legs.
• PM - 9.5mi () 3mi warm-up (20:45), 4x1600m w/ 200m rest and 2.2mi cool down. My times were 5:35 (2:00), 5:35 (1:30), 5:37 (1:30), 5:39. I felt great on the first two but my fitness is not there right now so I slowed down a bit on the last two. Once I get a few more miles in my legs I will recover better. It was also quite warm and humid tonight.
  

Thursday: 6mi (46:00) Really easy run after last night's workout. I cut it short too because my soleus was a bit tight and tender. Felt alright later in the day.
Friday: 10mi (68:30) A slightly up-tempo run and it felt pretty good except for the humidity. This run is setting the framework for future threshold runs like I used to do on Fridays.

Saturday: Zippo
Sunday: 15mi (1:49:20) This was one bizarre-o run. My first mile split was 8:06 (holy crap!) and my last mile split was 6:12. I passed through 5 miles in 38:25 and my last 5 miles were in 33:51. I nearly stopped at 10 miles because I was feeling like garbage but things started loosening up and I felt much better the last 5 miles. One thing that I did was to do 4 20 second surges after 10 miles to recruit some fast twitch muscle fibers. I read that Ryan Hall does this on long runs and it seems to work. I'm glad I got in a long run but I hope I feel better in the coming days and weeks.

Completed: 59.7mi
Plan Total: 60-65mi

9/13-9/19

This was a good week. I slightly exceeded my mileage goal (60.5 miles vs 55-60 miles) and I did my first track workout. I am starting out slow and the workout was pretty relaxed, but it was so nice to get back on the track and run fast again. Right now it seems like things are headed in the right direction and all the little aches and pains are clearing up. I think the icing, stretching, lifting and extra drills are starting to pay off as is running only 6 days per week. I will bump my mileage slightly next week to 65 miles but will have to miss the track workout because of parent-teacher conferences. I might do a short threshold run on the roads instead.

Monday: 7.3mi (50:36) I almost did not get to run today because things were busy at work and then I bailed once in the evening because of the storms that rolled in. I finally got out the door at about 6:30PM and had to cut the run short a bit because it was getting dark, but man, what great weather for running. I felt so much better than yesterday and was able to click off the miles with ease.

Tuesday: 10mi (68:54) Felt good again today and the weather was really nice. Pretty easy effort.

Wednesday:

• AM 4mi (29:48) Real easy run to loosen up for this afternoon.
• PM 10mi () 2.2 mile warm up (16:04), 5x1000m @ 5k pace and 2.2 mile cool down (17:52). Workout splits and rests were 3:21 (3:37), 3:21 (3:36), 3:25 (3:42), 3:15 (4:13), 3:10.
  

Thursday: 6mi (44+) Easy, short run to recover from yesterday.
Friday: 10.1mi (72:24) I wanted to go a bit longer than usual and take it easy. Nice easy run. Ran a bit faster at the end.

Saturday: Goose egg. I intentionally took today off but did some core and strengthening work.
Sunday: 13.1mi (92:45) I started out really slow and felt a few small twinges and aches but things settled down and I got rolling about 4-5 miles into the run. Over all I felt really good and my long runs are now respectable.

Completed: 60.5mi
Plan Total: 55-60mi

First Workout - 5x1000m

2.2 mile warm up (16:04), 5x1000m @ 5k pace and 2.2 mile cool down (17:52). Workout splits and rests were 3:21 (3:37), 3:21 (3:36), 3:25 (3:42), 3:15 (4:13), 3:10.

I ran with Justin and Michael and was pretty was much hanging out for the first two and half repeats. I did not know what the body was capable of or it it would quit on me part way through the workout so I wanted to be cautious. The rests were long to start with and they started getting longer at the end so I tested myself a little and went solo at 400m of the 4th repeat and the entire 5th repeat. It felt good except my left shoe was tied too tight and my Achilles started bothering me. It really felt great to be working out again, especially since the weather is perfect for running.

9/6-9/12

I came up a bit short of the goal for the week (51.5 miles vs. a goal of 55-60 miles) but I only ran 6 days and I started to feel better than I have been feeling the last couple of weeks. I also got my first double-digit run in, a whopping 12.2 miles today. I do not think that my long run will get much longer than this for the foreseeable future. With my recent track record of injuries I am planning on limiting my long run to 15 miles, total miles to 70 and I will only run 6 days per week. If I need any more base work I can always jump on the bike and add it there. If I can stay healthy off this plan throughout the winter then I may have a shot at running some fast times on the track and roads in the spring. Here's the breakdown for the week:

Monday: 8.2mi (57:27) Easy run.

Tuesday: 7mi (49:30) Easy run.

Wednesday: 8.7mi (61:00) I went a bit longer than planned, but I felt good once I got going.
Thursday: 7.4mi (52:32) Meh ... Just getting in the miles.
Friday: 8mi (55:13) I actually felt pretty good today. I started out easy at about 7:30 pace and dropped it down to 6:30 pace by the end. Good day.

Saturday: 0 - intentionally took the day off.
Sunday: 12.2mi (87:06) Yay, I finally got in double digit run. I felt decent at the beginning but things went down hill after the mid-way. My lower legs felt sore and my lower back tightened up. What ever happened to those days when running felt good?

Completed: 51.5mi
Plan Total: 55-60mi

8/23-9/5

I did not post last week because things were so busy. After work each day I drove an hour back to Nashua to spend 1.5 hours helping out with my oldest son's XC practice and then 2-3 hours at my second oldest son's football practice. I leave the house at 6:30AM and do not get home until 9:30PM, so this does not leave a lot of time for running. I had 32 miles of running, 30 miles of cycling and I ran 15 miles with the Nashua PAL XC preseason conditioning camp. I won't count those miles because it was 9-11 min/mi pace.

I ran 51 miles this week, although 6 of those miles were with my son at about 10 min/mi pace. My lower legs have been feeling like crap all week. I am not too sure what it is but I have a hard time running more than 5-6 miles at a time without discomfort. It is a dull, aching in my calves and back of my ankles (Achilles) and I had some pitting edema early in the week in both legs. Just to be on the safe side I got some blood/urine tests done and everything checked out so I am not really sure what is going on. Maybe it is just old age. Hopefully my body is just taking longer than normal to get into the groove and I can work out of this funk soon. The goal is to move up to 55-60 miles this coming week if the old body cooperates.