Training Summary: 12/16 - 12/22

Mon: 8 miles
Tue: 8 miles plus hill bursts
Wed: 9 miles, including 2 miles of straights and curves
Thu: 7 miles
Fri: 10.5 miles, including aerobic intervals
Sat: 6.5 miles
Sun: 15 miles
Total: 64 miles

Overall this was a positive week. I still struggled some with my upper legs and never felt like I had my legs fully under me, but I felt better as the week went on while still being able to get some work done, so I can’t complain. I still have a ways to go to get where I need/want to be, but this was a step in the right direction.

The first couple days of the week were as usual, a distance day on Monday followed by some hill sprints at the end of Tuesday’s run. Wednesday was a bit more of a test. The schedule called for a warm-up followed by 2X1 mile of straights and curves (run the straightaway hard and jog the curve), which amounts to 16X100 meter sprints. I was supposed to start at 19 sec for the straights and work my way down to 17. However, I ran the first one in 18 then hit all the remaining ones at 17, except for one 16 towards the end. I felt some neuromuscular fatigue towards the end of both sets, but for the most part I felt under control and like I could have gone faster. This surprised me a bit since leg speed has never been one of my strengths and I also haven’t worked on it over the past several weeks.

After an easy day on Thursday, I tackled the bigger workout of the week on Friday, 2X10 min at tempo pace followed by 4X30 sec fast. The tempo intervals went fairly well. I was supposed to run them conservatively, so that’s what I did, although I went through the mile in push #2 in 5:44. I was starting to fade a bit towards the end, but managed to run the 4X30 sec all just over or just under 5:00 pace, which once again surprised me a bit.

The final couple runs of the week were definitely unique from a weather standpoint. I could have gone shirtless both days and actually did go shirtless on Sunday. The Sunday run was one of my better long runs in a while. I still struggled a bit with my legs, but not nearly as much as I have at times recently, and with the loop we did being one of the tougher ones we run (Lee’s Gap), it was encouraging.

This week will be a bit of a down week due to Christmas. Not only do I want to enjoy the time with my family, but I’ve found in the past that trying to do all the various activities and train hard too just doesn’t work well. It takes away from both and just leaves you worn out, and I’d rather go into the first of the year feeling good and ready to do work. Merry Christmas, everyone!