Mon: 6.5 miles
Tue: AM – 4 miles; PM – 7.5 miles
Wed: 2 miles
Thu: AM: 4.5 miles; PM – 7.5 miles
Fri: 7.5 miles
Sat: AM – 7 miles; PM – 3 miles
Sun: 10.5 miles
Total: 60 miles
So obviously it’s been a while since I’ve posted, mainly because I decided I wasn’t going to do so until I got back to a point where I was at least training consistently and at a decent volume. I’m pleased to report I finally feel like I’m there. The past three weeks have been 45, 50, and 60 miles, each of which was my highest weekly total since August of last year. I’m still slower than a slug, but at least I feel like I’m finally back at it.
All my running right now is at an easy pace as I attempt to build back a base. Several weeks ago I tried a different approach by adding in some hill sprints, short intervals, and a few runs with “fast” finishes, and it just didn’t work. I’m simply too out of shape and not only wore down quickly but also started to experience various aches and pains. That told me I’m just going to have to be patient and take a fairly traditional approach to getting fit again. The more I run, the smoother and more efficient I’ll get, and then I can consider incorporating in pace changes and the like.
Now, when I say I’m slow, I mean I’m slow, for me at least. Whereas I’m accustomed to my standard runs being anywhere from 6:50 to 7:30 pace depending on the day, I now average more like 7:45. It stinks, but it is what it is. It’s been frustrating for my pace not to improve any more than it has and that leads me to wonder sometimes if I’m making any progress at all, but I’ve been monitoring my heart rate and I’m finally starting to see some improvement there. Whereas I was averaging over 160 bpm even though I didn’t feel like I was running hard, now I’m averaging more like 155, which is more like it. I’ve always had a high max HR, so for me, somewhere around 150 bpm is generally where I should be for the majority of my running, and it looks like I should be in that range soon.
As an example of how and why I got so out of shape, this past Sunday I ran 10.5 miles. It was my first double-digit mileage run since August 31st of last year, so almost a full 365 days without a run of 10 miles or more. Furthermore, up until recently, my weekly average for 2015 had been under 30 miles per week, with lots of weeks coming in even below 20 miles. While some people might be able to train successfully that way, I’m not one of them, and the effects have been even greater at age 42 than they might have been 10 years ago.
Anyway, that’s about it for now. I’m looking for another solid week this week before taking a down week next week then hopefully putting in a solid September. At this point I have no idea when, or even IF, I’ll ever race again, so I’m just gonna play that by ear. I certainly haven’t given up on the idea, but at this point I’m not making any plans either. For now I’m just happy to be back at it and content to see where that takes me.
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