Training Summary: 9/7 - 9/13

Mon: 7.5 miles
Tue: AM - 4.5 miles; PM - 7 miles
Wed: AM - 4.5 miles; PM - 9 miles incl 2 sets of 3/2/1 min fartlek w/ 2 min rec
Thu: 6 miles
Fri: AM - 4.5 miles; PM - 9 miles incl 3X5 min w/ 2 min rec then 2X30 sec hard
Sat: 5 miles
Sun: 13 miles
Total: 70 miles

This was one of those seemingly rare weeks where everything went according to plan. I hit each workout exactly as I’d written it up and ran exactly the number of miles I’d planned to coming into the week. Furthermore, this was pretty much a model of what I’d like my training to look like going forward. I think if I can run 2-4 doubles per week, 2 workouts with one being longer and one being shorter, a long run in the 13-15 mile range, and total up 70-75 miles, I’ll be golden. It’s enough to get fit without being so much that it will wear me down. Gone are the days of 90-100 miles and getting fit through sheer toughness and determination. Now it's more about taking what my body will give me and trying to figure out how to do more with less, so to speak.

The workouts this week were nothing to get excited about aside from the fact they were my first workouts in about 6 months and the first time in a over year that I've done multiple workouts in the same week. I tried to run them in a controlled manner, and while they were slow, I was pleased to make it through them feeling pretty solid, both during and after. Both times I wtached those I was running with pull away from me, but they didn't pull away as much as I thought they might, so I took that as a positive.

I was also very happy with my long run on Sunday. It was the farthest I’d run since the end of August of last year and also some of the fastest sustained pace I’d done in that time span, despite the fact it was done in the hills of Fincastle. We had a nice group for that run too consisting of me, Andrew, Tom, and Matthew, and we had a good time joking around and talking while covering the miles. It was a great way to wrap up the week, and when all was said and done I actually felt somewhat like a runner again.

Anyway, that's one good week in the books. Let’s hope it was the start of something!