I had one hell of a time recovering from a 19ish mile long run in cold, torrential rain two Sunday's ago. I came back on Monday feeling spacey (4.5 easy); felt better on Tuesday (9 good pace); spacey on Wednesday (5 easy); great on Thursday (9 better pace); spacey on Friday (4.5 easy) and Saturday (3ish easy). After a very difficult week, I was seriously doubting my ability to go 22 miles yesterday. I felt good early on until we hit some good hills at 8-9 miles. My legs started to feel heavy, and I began to worry that that was the beginning of the end of the run. A few miles later, I tried a GU Chomp, and my leg turnover immediately improved. I never looked back. I took it all the way to the end--22.6 miles at 8:31/mile. That's significantly faster than any marathon I've ever run, and it was super comfy. I know that, in reality, the GU Chomp had little if anything to do with my ability to finish this run, but I'll take it.
Jessica was having some issues with a foot, so she decided to turn around and do 21 miles instead of the full 22.6 we had mapped out. When she turned around on Leetes Island Road, it was as if she was seeing me off to my first day of school or to the moon or Mars. At that point, I was still feeling good, and after the turnaround, I decided to put my arms out on a downhill and just savor the moment. Because it really did feel like I was flying.
Weekly totals: 58 miles; 8hrs 15mins
12.07.2010
First 5 weeks of training for Austin
Over the last 5 weeks, I've averaged exactly 50 miles/week. This is uncharted territory for me. For 16 weeks, leading up to Missoula, I averaged about 30 miles/week; for 12 weeks, leading up to Green Mountain, I averaged about 40 miles/week.
I've been handling the volume well. My only complaint is some diffuse (Jess taught me this word) right knee achiness, which started after a bumpy trail run two Sunday's ago. The achiness comes and goes. I'm not too worried about it, but I would like it to just go away already.
On Sunday, I did 19ish miles in 2:40 over a pretty hilly route. I took the first half easy and then picked up the pace. The faster pace felt very comforable, and I was easily able to finish strongly. I wish every run could feel like that.
I plan on doing 20 this Sunday and 22 next Sunday. I've built three 22-milers into this training. They're late enough in the training that by the time I get to them, the time it will take me to cover 22 miles will be about the same time that it took me to cover 20 miles. Twenty miles is usually sufficient, but as you become fitter, you cover the distance in less time. In order to get the time in (which is much more important than the distance), one must go longer. About three weeks ago, I did 20ish miles in 2:50. In some of my earlier training, I was doing 19 miles in 3:00-3:10. I'll take anything over 2:30, as that's when major improvements in endurance occur, but I also want to pscyhologically prepare myself for 3+ hour runs.
I've been handling the volume well. My only complaint is some diffuse (Jess taught me this word) right knee achiness, which started after a bumpy trail run two Sunday's ago. The achiness comes and goes. I'm not too worried about it, but I would like it to just go away already.
On Sunday, I did 19ish miles in 2:40 over a pretty hilly route. I took the first half easy and then picked up the pace. The faster pace felt very comforable, and I was easily able to finish strongly. I wish every run could feel like that.
I plan on doing 20 this Sunday and 22 next Sunday. I've built three 22-milers into this training. They're late enough in the training that by the time I get to them, the time it will take me to cover 22 miles will be about the same time that it took me to cover 20 miles. Twenty miles is usually sufficient, but as you become fitter, you cover the distance in less time. In order to get the time in (which is much more important than the distance), one must go longer. About three weeks ago, I did 20ish miles in 2:50. In some of my earlier training, I was doing 19 miles in 3:00-3:10. I'll take anything over 2:30, as that's when major improvements in endurance occur, but I also want to pscyhologically prepare myself for 3+ hour runs.
12.04.2010
IT Band Troubles
My right leg/knee problem isn't going away. After 3 days of no running I went to do 16 miles today and barely made it 6 before I had to stop. I just spent some time reading and I'm 99% sure I've got a problem with the IT Band on my right leg. All the symptoms seem to fit. Most of what I've read suggests that I need to stop running until pain goes away. Very disappointing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)