Mon: 4 miles (AM); 7 miles (PM)
Tue: 10 miles, including turnover workout
Wed: 4 miles (AM); 9.5 miles (PM)
Thu: 4.5 miles (AM); 6.5 miles (PM)
Fri: 10.5 miles, including fartlek
Sat: 6 miles
Sun: 16 miles
Total: 78 miles
This was my third really good week of training in a row, and I’m already starting to see some signs of progress in my ability to run faster paces. I’m also feeling good, so much so that it’s almost concerning. In other words, I’m sort of nervous that something is bound to blow up any time now. I can’t worry about that sort of stuff though. I just have to be smart, do what I need to do, and hope for the best, all the while counting my blessings when things are going really well.
I joined David Angell for his workout on Tuesday, and it was a huge help. He ran 15:53 for 5k at the VA Tech indoor meet this past weekend, so obviously I couldn’t hang with him, but having him there to chase was definitely beneficial. As a result, during my workout of 3X600, 4X400, and 4X200, I ran my fastest 600, 400, and 200 of the year (and in quite a while). I was basically going out too fast and dying in each interval, but that’s ok. As I get used to going out faster, I’ll eventually be able to hang on longer and longer, getting faster in the process.
After a couple of recovery days where I got in some decent mileage, Friday consisted of a 10 min push followed by 3 min recovery then ten times one minute on/off. The 10 min push was the fastest I’ve run for that sort of interval in quite a while, as I averaged 5:27 pace. I paid the price for it towards the end of the one minute repeats, but that’s ok. Overall it was a good workout, especially considering the windy, somewhat rainy, conditions.
The week finished off with a long run from my house in what can only be described as flat nasty conditions. The wind was crazy and the wind chill was in the single digits. Factor in some blowing snow, which actually had the roads covered for one section of the run, and it definitely left me longing for spring to hurry up and get here. Aside from the conditions though, I felt really good and ran well. I kept the effort under control the whole way but still managed to hit the first 8 miles in 55:04 (6:53 avg) and the last 8 miles in 53:01 (6:37 avg), with the last 3 miles in 6:32, 6:30, and 6:20. With the weather like it was and on a course that had over 1,600’ total elevation change, it was definitely a solid effort and I was pleased with how it turned out.
This week may be a tough one based on the weather and my schedule. The forecast is calling for a couple bouts with a “wintry mix” and the usual ridiculous wind that always seems to follow those events, plus I’m scheduled to work the ODAC Indoor Track and Field Championship all day on Friday, so it could prove difficult to find good times for quality workouts. All I can do is make the most of what I have available and go from there. If it turns out not to be the best week, that’s ok. It’s the big picture and consistency over time that counts. As a final note, I’m definitely getting the itch to race sometime soon. I haven’t had time to start planning out a race schedule yet and I’m not sure when/where I’ll make my season debut, but sometime soon I want to bust the rust loose and find out where I am in terms of fitness. After all, I’m not doing all this work for nothing!
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