11/4-11/17

This is a double post because I did not get around to posting a week ago. Last week is at the top and the previous week is at the bottom. I really struggled for a week or so and my runs did not feel normal. In fact, most of them felt downright awful. I must have been fighting something off and I was not getting enough sleep. Thankfully, that passed in time to get in some decent runs this past weekend. I got my mileage back up to 70+ after a planned easy week, which I probably took a bit too easy.

Monday: 10mi (1:07:56) Easy recovery run.
Tuesday: AM - 3mi (21:21)
PM - 6.2mi (41:44)
Wednesday: AM - 5mi (35:08)
PM - 7.5mi (50:43)
Thursday: AM - 4mi (29:14)
PM - 8.1 (56:16)
Friday: 8mi (55:39)
Saturday: 8mi (53:07) Easy run - finally starting to feel better and run normal.
Sunday: 13.5mi () 5 mile warm-up (34:07) + 3x2mile on track w/ 1-2 minutes of rest and 2 mile cooldown. The repeats and rests were 10:52 (5:27/5:25), 1:30, 10:44 (5:20/5:24), 2:10, 10:47 (5:22/5:25). Felt good to go fast and open things up a bit. Need a lot of work though.

Total for week: 73 miles

Monday: 0
Tuesday: 6.2mi (43:14)
Wednesday: 0
Thursday: 8mi (54:20)
Friday: 6mi (44:23)
Saturday: 5.2mi (35:49)
Sunday: 13mi (1:34:42) Slow awful run. The only good thing about this run is that I was exploring the Westborough, MA WMA. Pretty nice trails that lead to the Westborough Charm Bracelet trails.

Total for week: 38 miles

10/28-11/3

This was a pretty good week with 71 total miles and two workouts (one being the long run). I backed off doing two workouts during the week because I got too tired and felt like I would end up injured. This is the most miles I have done in a while and there was a fair amount of quality so I will take an easy week next week and back off to one workout and only 40-50 miles.

Monday: 6.2mi (43:40) Easy recovery run.
Tuesday: AM - 3.3mi (24:26)
PM - 8.1mi (53:33)
Wednesday: AM - 3.3mi (24:07)
PM - 8mi (50:43) Medium hill fartlek followed by hard mile (5:13). Decent effort.
Thursday: 10mi (1:06:51) Moderate shake out run.
Friday: AM - 3.3mi (24:06)
PM - 6.2mi (43:43) Easy recovery run.
Saturday: 5.2mi (34:46)
Sunday: 17mi (1:47:43) It was supposed to be a progression run but I started unusually fast at 6:45 pace and did not run slower than 6:30 after that. Overall, a great run but I started to rig a bit in the last mile because the last half was into the wind and I did not take any water or nutrition on the run.

Total for week: 71 miles

10/21-10/27

I have been running between 40 and 60 miles per week all along but have been too busy and tired to post about it. We are finally moved in and settled after what seemed like the longest and most drawn out move in history so I am hoping to get back into the swing of things.

Monday: 6mi () Real slow recovery run. No watch. I ran 14 miles yesterday at 6:30 pace.
Tuesday: 10.7mi (1:06:50) Progression run to get the wheels moving a little bit. Started out at 7 min/mi pace and ended in 5:45 pace. Ran the last 5 miles in 29:50.
Wednesday: 8.1mi (57:37) Easy recovery run.
Thursday: 8.1mi (49:40) Threshold/progression run. It was a little quicker than I planned because the weather was so nice but I felt completely in control the whole time. Started at 6:30 pace and ended at 5:50 pace.
Friday: 7mi (51:05) Really easy recovery.
Saturday: 4mi (29:01) Shake out early in the morning.
Sunday: 16mi (1:49:40) I decided to take it easy today and just try to get in more miles rather than do a progression run. I did about 3 miles on single-track trails where I only averaged 7:45 pace but ran a pretty steady 6:30-6:40 pace for the rest of the run. Need more runs like this.

Total for week: 60 miles

5/27-6/2

Monday: 8.25mi (60:22) Real slow recovery run.

Tuesday: AM - 8mi (no watch) Felt better than expected, PM - 3mi (no watch) Stopped in trails on way home from work.

Wednesday: AM - 5.3mi (38:58) Real slow for some reason, PM - 9.5mi (link)My first fast track workout in quite a long time. The workout was 10-12 x 400m at Daniels' "R" pace with a full recovery (3-4 minutes). My plan was to hit 70-72 seconds but I am having a hard time determining pace and was getting out too fast for most of the repeats. I did 10 repeats because I do not want to hurt myself and my times were: 66.5, 69.9, 69.5, 70.6, 66.9 67.8, 69.2, 69.2, 68.5, 68.3 and my average rest was about 3:15. I felt good by 2:30-3:00 of rest so I did not want to sit around for the full 4 minutes. I really need to work on pacing.

Thursday: 

Friday: 

Saturday: 

Sunday:

Total for week: 34 miles

5/20-5/26

Monday: 8.1mi (56:20) Surprised it was this quick.

Tuesday: 8.8mi (62:43) Easy run.

Wednesday: AM - 5.3mi (37:30), PM - 11mi () 2.2 mile warm-up followed by 6xmile at tempo pace (~10k pace) with 1 minute rest + 2.2 mile cool-down and 4 strides. I based the target pace on Daniels tables from my race this past weekend and was supposed to hit 5:40-5:50 but I never touched that window. My times were 5:33, 5:37, 5:34, 5:35, 5:35, 5:32 and I was ready to go within 30 seconds each repeat. My pacing was pretty bad as I bounced between 80 second quarters and 85 second quarters trying to dial in the pace. I also felt surprisingly good during the cool-down. Take it easy the next two days.

Thursday: 6mi (44:53) Cut it short because I felt like %*#(.

Friday: AM - 5.3mi (37:34) Easy, PM - 10.2mi (71:11) Felt much better but I felt a twinge in my left soleus so I had to slow things down quite a bit. I will probably take tomorrow off.

Saturday: Off

Sunday: 18.1mi (2:01:14) (link) This was my longest run in a long time but I did not think it was going to go that way in the beginning. I started out with a 7:46 first mile and felt like garbage. It took all the way to halfway to get the average pace down to 7minutes/mile. At that point I stopped at my car, stretched, changed shoes, got some water and took a GU pack for the first time ever. What a horrible after-taste! I felt a lot better and average 6:24 min/mile for the next 9 miles and dropped as low as 6:03 for mile 12 or 13. Good run.

Total for week: 72.8 miles

5/13-5/19

Taking an easy week to rest up. I am feeling really tired after building up from 60 miles/week to over 80 miles/week for the first time in a long time. I am pretty much cutting out morning runs and only running 6 days this week.

Monday: 9.1mi (62:21) Easy run. Started out slow but loosened up by end.

Tuesday: 8.1mi (no watch)

Wednesday: 10mi (63:18) + 0.6mi cool-down (link) - Same 10 mile progression run as last Wednesday but since it is an easy week I dropped my pace slower to make the run easier. I was surprised to run the second half 20 seconds faster than last week (29:40ish) and it felt better.

Thursday: 8.1mi (57:47) Really easy to recover. Felt good.

Friday: 6mi (42:48) Another easy day. Did an acceleration at end + 4 strides.

Saturday: 12mi total - started with 3 mile warm-up ending with acceleration (21:43) + 12k/7.4mi race (42:36) and 1.5 mile cool-down (13:46). The race was the Bedford Rotary 12k (link) and it was pretty much awful. I knew that I was not in shape to race but Friday night I decided that I just needed to jump in with two feet and should race myself into shape. I did the 9.5mi leg of the Mill Cities Relay in December at 5:25 pace and this was only 7.4 miles and I avaraged 5:44 pace - pretty pathetic.

Sunday: 9.25mi (63:48) Based on how I felt last night I though that this would be an awful run but after the first mile I dropped to 6:50 pace and ran that pace the rest of the way.

Total for week: 62.5 miles

4/22-5/12

It has been quite a while since I have updated my blog. It is not because I have been injured, as in the past, it's just that I have had so much else going on. I have actually been running injury free since the middle of July, 2012 averaging almost 50 miles per week. I do a four week rotation of three weeks between 50 and 65 miles and then an easy week between 30 and 50 miles and I do not run more than 6 days per week. Taking a bit more rest seems to have really helped. The last change is that the only quality that I do is on the roads or trails - I am pretty sure that all the repeats on the track led to more than one injury.

Anyways, I just started building up my mileage so that I can handle either the Daniels 'Plan A' or 'Elite Plan' to attempt my first marathon this fall. I like the structure of the 'Elite Plan' but do not think that I will get much over 85 miles/week so I may have to do a hybrid plan. I have started this training before and not followed through and can not promise that it won't happen again. I am pretty terrified of the 26.2 mile distance and am not really sure how my body will handle it.

Here is my training for the last two weeks plus this week:

4/22-4/28

Monday: 8.3mi (55:42)

Tuesday: 10.5mi (71:41)

Wednesday: AM - 3.1mi (22:21), PM 10mi (64:22) Moderate progression run. First one and felt alright.

Thursday: 8mi (58:07)

Friday: 9mi (61:04)

Saturday: 3.1mi (21:45)

Sunday: 16mi (1:45:30)

Total for week: 68 miles

4/29-5/5
Monday: 7.3mi (53:26) Totally wiped
Tuesday: 10.5mi (71:29)
Wednesday: AM - 5.2mi (37:09), PM 10mi (63:14) I was feeling fine until the last two miles. I had hydration issues and dropped from 6 minute pace to 6:30 pace on the last two miles. Bonk!
Thursday: 8mi (58:35)
Friday: AM - 5.2mi (38:34), PM 8.2mi (57:44)
Saturday: 4.3mi (30:27)
Sunday: 16mi (1:50:15) Easy and under control
Total for week: 74.7 miles

5/6-5/12
Monday: AM - 5.2mi (38:35), PM - 9mi (62:23)
Tuesday: 9.1mi (62:17)
Wednesday: AM - 5.3mi (38:02), PM 10mi (62:16) + 0.5mi cool-down (link) - Another progression. Got down to 6min pace by half way and held it for the second 5 miles. Did a short cool down.
Thursday: 8.1mi (no watch) Really slooowwww.
Friday: AM - 5.3mi (38:38), PM - 10mi (69:16) Decent run.
Saturday: 3.5mi (25:35) Really slow for some reason.
Sunday: 15mi (1:44:38) I was really tired and this was much slower than I expected.
Total for week: 81 miles

This was the first time over 80 miles in a week in a long time and it was much harder than I remember. Taking a rest week next week.

12/17-12/23

Even though I was tired most of the week things really improved by the end of the week. I had my highest mileage yet and had a decent workout despite feeling tired. I would like to go over 70 miles next week since I will not be working and can sneak in a nap each afternoon and possibly some morning runs (not likely).

Monday: 10mi (72:26) It was wet, windy and really slippery running on the ice and snow so this was a real slow one. I am so tired of running in the cold on packed snow.

Tuesday: 10.2mi (68:57) Finally got to run on a surface that did not slip back half a step each stride. Easy run to recover from the last two days.

Wednesday: 11.2mi - 2.9mi warm-up, 10k threshold run (33:58), 2.1mi cool down. I was not sure how this was going to go because I was a bit tired from the last couple days and the wind was pretty strong on the back stretch of the track. I almost bailed at 5km but things loosened up after 2.5-3 miles and I finished much better than I started. Splits were: 5:29, 5:29, 5:27, 5:27, 5:24, 5:26, 74. I felt pretty good after the workout but will take it really easy the next two days.

Thursday: 10.5mi (73:10) Recovery run.

Friday: 10mi (68:16) Kind of cold, really wet and windy, extremely miserable. This run just sucked.

Saturday: off

Sunday: 17.2mi (1:50:27) I don't say this often, but this was a truly awesome run. I was not sure how things would go because I have been feeling really tired for the last week and I did not get decent sleep the last two nights because we have a sick 2 year old in the house. I started out quick and when mile 9 passed in 5:58 I had to pull things back a little bit. I felt strong and I was just cruising at 6:15 pace for the last half of the run. I did 4-5 full speed accelerations between mile 8 and 10 to recruit fast twitch muscle fibers.

Total for week: 69.1mi

12/10-12/16

More catch up here. I was a bit short on the miles this week for some reason, had a mediocre workout and had a slow, sloppy long run. Overall the week was kind of meh.

Monday: 8mi (55:24) Easy recovery.

Tuesday: 10.2mi (70:38)

Wednesday: 10.1mi (64:22) I was at work today so I did a 3 mile warm-up, 6x0.33mi hill followed by 1 mile at threshold pace (5:22) and then 2 mile cool-down. This was the same workout that I did two weeks ago in 63:48 w/ a 5:27 mile at the end. I was definitely more tired this week and the warm up and cool down were slower as well as the first mile split on the hill efforts but I was able to pull things together and get in a decent workout.

Thursday: 8mi (58:18) Easy recovery.

Friday: 10mi (64:14) Let it out a bit on one of my standard 10 mile out-and-back runs.

Saturday: off

Sunday: 16mi (1:50:06) I was cold and snowy the whole time so I was pretty tired at the end from slipping on every step and being frozen to the core. It is amazing how much this kind of run takes out of you even when going easy.

Total for week: 62.3mi

12/3-12/9

Catching up on my entries. This week was a really easy week and I hardly ran at all. Felt better by the end of the week.

Monday: off

Tuesday: 3mi (22:33)

Wednesday: 6.25mi (43:33)

Thursday: 5.25mi (36:40)

Friday: off

Saturday: 6.25mi (42:35)

Sunday: 15mi (1:38:36).

Total for week: 35.75mi

11/26-12/2

Things went well again this week as I just squeaked out more than 60 miles, had a good hill workout and was pleased with my race. Based on my Mill Cities Relay split I think that I am making good progress towards my goal in the spring (more on that later). Next week will be a real easy week: ~40 miles.

Monday: 8.1mi (54:57) Easy run to test out calf. All looks good.

Tuesday: 10.1mi (68:37) Another easy day to test my calf.

Wednesday: 10.1mi (63:48) I said that I was not going to do a hard workout this week but my calf feels good so I decided to go with the original plan and do a hill repeat workout. I did a 3 mile warm-up and then went right in to 6x0.33mi hill followed by 1 mile at threshold pace (5:27 - it was slightly down hill). Felt really good on this workout.

Thursday: 8.1mi (55:54) Nice easy run to recover.

Friday: 10mi (70:02) Easy run in Mine Falls.

Saturday: Off. This is the first time I have ever taken the day before a race off. We will see how this goes.

Sunday: 13.75mi (Mill Cities Relay) I did a 2.8 mile warm-up (19:43) and things looked like they would be pretty icy and slick but things turned out okay during the race. 9.52 mile 4th leg in 51:35 (splits: 5:28, 5:23, 5:22, 5:29, 5:29, 5:25, 5:28, 5:25, 5:23, 2:44). I intentionally took the first mile easy because it was the slickest but then let things open up a bit. I was feeling good and passing people until about 7 miles when I heard foot steps behind me. They continued to get louder and at 8.5 miles Pat Moulton pulled even with me, gave me a couple words of encouragement and then when flying by. I tried to go with him and dropped my pace a bit but felt like I was going to blow up and backed off. I was able to keep the gap to about 30 seconds to the end. Over all I am pleased with this effort because the footing was worse than last year and I am at the end of a hard cycle and I ran 90 seconds faster than last year (51:35 vs 53:05). I cooled down for 1.5 miles with Pat (12:38)

Total for week: 60mi

11/19-11/25

This was a pretty good week because I got over 60 miles again, had a decent threshold run and did a nice long run. The only down side was that I tweaked my calf a bit and am going to take it easy for a couple days to make sure it does not turn into anything serious. I think that it is my peroneus longus on the right leg. I can still run with no pain - it feels like a slight soreness and it is a little tender if I push on it. I will try to do my normal routine next week minus the hard run and I will probably dial back the intensity a notch.

Monday: 8.25mi (59:33) Easy run to recover.

Tuesday: 10mi (68:49) Another easy day to rest up for tomorrow.

Wednesday: 11mi - 2.2mi warm-up (15:34) with 10k threshold run (34:14) and 2.6mi cool-down (17:58). I was planning on a redux of the 8 mile threshold run I did 3-4 weeks ago to gauge how my fitness was coming along but about 5.5 miles in the tape on my left foot started bothering me. I tape my arches for a little extra support during speed workouts and my foot must have swelled during the run. I decided to cut the run short and do just 10km. It took me a little bit to get going because my hamstrings and lower back were a bit tight for the first couple miles, but I felt pretty good the last 3 miles and felt like I could have maintained 5:25-5:30 pace for the last 2 miles if my foot had cooperated. My splits were: 5:35, 5:33, 5:29, 5:26, 5:27, 5:23, 78.Last time my average was 5:39/1600m for 8mi and this time it was 5:29/1600m, but for only 10km. I felt much better after the run than last time. Last time I was a bit wiped and my cool-down was at 8min/mi pace but this time I felt great and I ran the cool-down at 6:45/mi pace. Rest up the next couple days.

Thursday: 8.3mi (59:37) Nice easy run. I landed a bit odd on my right foot about 6 miles into the run and tweaked something in the side of my calf. I think that it is right where the peroneus longus attaches on the side of the knee. I slowed a bit for the last couple of miles and it seemed fine. Ice, foam roll and use compression socks.

Friday: off to let leg rest.

Saturday: 10mi (71:00) My leg was fine for the first 7-8 miles but then I became aware of it. It does not hurt, it feels more like soreness and it is slightly tender to the touch. Ice, foam roll and use compression again.

Sunday: 16.3mi (1:51:03) I ran really early this morning to get it out of the way. My leg was fine at the start but only 2-3 miles in I could feel it. I went for a while but at 6 miles I headed back for the car. By the time I got there my leg was fine so I kept going and was able to finish the run without feeling it again. Ice and use compression after run.

Total for week: 63.85mi

11/12-11/18

Monday: 8mi (56:16) Easy run to recover.

Tuesday: 10.5mi (70:03) This was a moderate run and it was nice running in the cold rain!

Wednesday: 10.1mi (65:39) I did a hill workout today w/ 6x0.3mi long hill and a mile @ threshold pace (5:38) right afterwards to clear the lactic acid. Felt good.

Thursday: 8.1mi (56:25) Easy recovery run w/ 4 5-8 second full speed surges on hills and a 200m acceleration at the end.

Friday: 10.5mi (66:43) Felt pretty good today so I wanted to let it rip a bit, especially since I am taking tomorrow off. I started out at 7min/mi pace and gradually dropped it down to 6min/mi at the end.

Saturday: Off

Sunday: 16mi (107:09) I was originally going to do an 8 mile warm-up and then go right into a 6 mile threshold run. However, I was not really feeling great today and decided to bail. I also have not officially started my training macrocycle yet for the spring and need a few more mesocycles (4 week periodization) in me before I really ramp up the volume and intensity together. I ran about 7min/mi for the first 8 miles and then dropped to 6:30min/mi pace for the next 7 miles and finished with a 6 minute mile and a long acceleration.

Total for week: 63.2mi

11/5-11/11

This was my easy week and I took full advantage of it. I was really tired at the end of last week and my foot was bothering me so I only ran four days this week.

Monday: 0

Tuesday: 6.2mi (42:09) Felt a lot better than expected.

Wednesday: 8.3mi (57:44) Foot bothered me.

Thursday: 0

Friday: 0

Saturday: 5.2mi (36:05)

Sunday: 12mi (79:12) I felt good and just cruised at 6:15-6:30 pace for the last 8-10 miles.

Total for week: 31.7mi

10/29-11/4

The theme for the week was fatigue. I was exhausted early in the week from my long run last Sunday and then later in the week from my Wednesday workout. I cut my long run a bit short because I was  looking forward to the easy week next week and it was just not happening. I am doing 4 week cycles, cutting my mileage 25-30% on the fourth week of each cycle, and next week is my easy week.

Monday: 8.1mi (58:38) Tired

Tuesday: 10.2mi (72:00) Still pretty tired.

Wednesday: 12.5mi - 2.1mi warm-up (15:28), 8.3mi of 4x2mi w/ 1 minute rest (48:39), 2.1mi cool-down (16:13). I wanted to mix things up a bit from last week and go a little faster so I did long intervals on the road. I almost punted the workout because I was so tired but I could not do it on Thursday or Friday.  Splits and rests were:
5:43, 11:28 (5:45)
rest - 1:18
5:26, 11:05 (5:39)
rest - 1:09
5:26, 11:01 (5:35)
rest - 1:05
5:30, 11:11 (5:41)
This was a bit harder and my times were more erratic than last week but I think that is because I was tired and there was less feedback on the 2 mile loop than on the track. The first mile was slightly downhill and the second mile was slightly uphill. Overall a good workout but very tiring.

Thursday: 8.1mi (57:16)

Friday: 8.3mi (60:18)

Saturday: 3mi (22:24)

Sunday: 12.1mi (86:06) I did not feel good and at 6 miles I tweaked the ball of my left foot so I cut it short. Really looking forward to next week to get some rest.

Total for week: 62.3mi

10/22-10/28

I have had a rough year running-wise but have finally been able to string together a couple weeks of reasonable running. This is my first week over 60 miles (I have been @ 56-58 the last 4 weeks) and I did my first workout this week so I figured I would start blogging again.

Monday: 8.1mi (?) No watch

Tuesday: 10.2mi (70:39)

Wednesday: 12mi - 2.2mi warm-up (15:42), 8mi threshold run (45:09), 2mi cooldown (16:33). This is the first workout with a warm-up I have done in about a year. I have been doing 10 mile progression runs once per week where I get down to 5:50 or 6 minute pace at the end, but I wanted to do something a bit quicker. I did it on the track just so I could get the pace down but will move back to the roads in the future. I pretty much hit 5:40, or a little quicker, each mile and did 12.8km (8x1600m) in 45:09 (5:40 pace would be 45:20). The effort was pretty easy, especially the first 4-5 miles, and the biggest challenge was overcoming boredom.

Thursday: 8.1mi (59:11)

Friday: 10.1mi (71:58)

Saturday: 0

Sunday: 17mi (115:52) I averaged 7min/mi for the first 10mi and then dropped to sub-6:30/mi pace for the last 6-7 miles. Felt good but need to rest up.

Total for week: 65.4mi

12/12-12/18

This week was probably about the same as the last two weeks - not great but not bad. I did not run as much as I hoped because my hip started bothering me again so I was either on the elliptical or in the pool. I really do not enjoy the bike so I am trying to find other ways to stay fit and not go crazy. I hope to get over this hip thing soon so that I can get on with training. The longer this goes on the less likely I am to run fast this spring.

Monday: 8.1mi (54:41) + 30min on the bike

Tuesday: 7.1mi (42:49) + 1 hour in gym and 3x400m swimming (7:20, 7:11, 7:03)

Wednesday: 1 hour on bike

Thursday: 1 hour on bike + 1 hour in gym + 3x400m swimming (7:12, 7:21, 7:21) - I learned that it is not smart to swim right after lifting. I was so tired.

Friday: 8.5mi (56:09)

Saturday: 1 hour in gym + 1 hour on elliptical + 1 mi on treadmill @ 7:10 pace w/ 5% incline + 2x400m swim (7:04, 6:53)

Sunday: 65 minutes on bike

Totals:

running - 24.7 miles + 1 hour on elliptical

biking - 72 miles

swimming - 3200m

12/5-12/11

Good week but my mileage was a bit lower than I hoped because I did not recover from last Sunday's race until Wednesday or Thursday. I have never been so sore for so long after a race. I guess that comes from racing a hard 9.5 miles when not in shape. I am hoping to gradually ramp up my mileage to around 60 miles/week by the new year and keep the swim and bike about where it is. I am finalizing my plan for the next 3 months and will post it sometime next week. I should be able to start adding some quality (LT run) this week and keep ramping up my strength work.

Monday: My quads are extremely sore from the race yesterday so I am taking it easy. 20 minutes on the bike and some easy lifting.

Tuesday: 4mi (29:54) + 25min on bike + 1200m in the pool (3x400m in 7:10, 7:15, 7:18). The swim was hard because I doubled the distance per leg, but I was able to keep the same pace, or a little bit faster. Still really sore.

Wednesday: 6mi (42:30) + 1 hour on the bike. Soreness a bit better.

Thursday: 7mi (51:00) + 1200m fs + 100m bs in the pool (3x400m in 7:15, 7:15, 7:12) + lift. I really need to work on my swimming endurance because I hit halfway for each of these in 3:25ish feeling fine and proceeded to slow down to ~3:50 for the second half. This run was so slow. I guess that I am really tired from the race still. Did 6 x short hill repeats (~8 seconds each w/ full recovery).

Friday: 6.1mi (43:39) A bit better today but still slow.

Saturday: 6.6mi (46:49) + 1200m in the pool (3x400 in 7:10, 7:15, 6:55) + lift. I had this all done before 8AM and was starving when I got done. Swimming was alright - I really focused on kicking and fully extending on the last repeat and actually felt better at the end than the previous two. I spent an hour in the gym doing a lot of static and dynamic leg strengthening - a lot of bounding, jumping, squats and lunges. I was surprised that I felt alright on the run, which I did last.

Sunday:11mi (77:30) + 20 miles on the bike. I had this all done by 8:30 and it went pretty well. It was pretty cold this morning during the run (21F at start, 23F at the end) but once I got warmed up I was able to roll at a decent pace. Added 6 short hill repeats (~8 seconds each).

totals:

running - 40.7 miles

biking - 59 miles

swimming - 3700m

11/28-12/4

I am mixing things up a bit more this winter and trying to keep in shape but not beat myself up. A fairly low key week trying not to go too wild before the Mill Cities Relay on Sunday. I had a decent race and ran quite a bit faster than I expected. I figured I would only run 5:40-5:45 pace but ran 53:05 for 9.52 miles, which is 5:35 pace. Next week I will ramp things up.

Monday: 3mi (20:29) + 20mi on bike + lift

Tuesday: 3mi (20:36) + 20mi on bike + 1000m in the pool

Wednesday: 4mi (27:00) + 20mi on bike + 1000m in the pool

Timed this swim for information's sake because I am just getting used to

being in the water for the first couple weeks. Did 5x200m with ~20 seconds rest between each set to evaluate what I was doing. Times were 3:50, 3:48, 3:46, 3:42 3:32. I did not push any harder on each set, rather I focused on my stroke and kicking. It is amazing how much kicking helps!

Thursday: 20mi on bike + lift

Friday: 6.2mi (41:53)

Saturday: ~5mi (35:27) With Justin and Chris in Mine Falls

Sunday: 2.5mi warm-up, 9.5mi race (Mill Cities) in 53:05 (5:35/mi average pace) + 1.25mi cool-down. Total = 13.25mi. I ran faster than I expected considering that I have not really been running much lately and I have been working on my strength quite a bit lately. My splits were fairly consistent, except for the first one, but I was definitely slowing down at the end:

1. 5:24

2. 10:58 5:34

3. 16:31 5:33

4. 22:10 5:39

5. 27:44 5:34

6. 33:20 5:36

7. 38:59 5:39

8. 44:37 5:37

9. 50:15 5:38

9.52 53:05 2:50

totals:

running - 34.5 miles

biking - 80 miles

swimming - 2000m

Thanks to Steve Wolfe for the photo. There are more here.

11/21-11/27

Like I said last week, I spent more time on the bike this week but I did more than I thought. I also did a lot less running than I thought I would.

Monday: 3mi (21:52) + 20mi on bike

Tuesday: 20mi on bike

Wednesday: 20mi on bike

Thursday: 20mi on bike

Friday: 20mi on bike

Saturday: 20mi on bike

Sunday: 4mi (29:53) Slow as shit.

total: 120 miles on the bike and 7 miles running.