More lactate threshold. More miles… that’s what I need.
At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself.
Here’s the week of July 2-8.
Monday – 1st run 15 miles in 1:37:26
2nd run 9 miles in 60:14
Total: 24 miles in 2:37:40
Crazy, crazy day. I was set to go out and hammer for 20 when I got the call to get to Philly to be on DNL with Floyd Landis. Because of that I just ran 15 (in 1:37:26) and wished that I could have gone much longer. It could have been the best I felt on a run all year. I don't know what got into me, but I ran solid without even trying.
splits:
1st 5: 32:28
2nd 5: 32:46
3rd 5: 32:11
After a Clif Bar a drive to Philly, a 30-minute segment on the show and then some general office jerking around, I drove out to Kelly Drive and ran nine miles around the River in 60:14. Actually, I think I went longer than 9 miles (closer to 10 than 9), but just for arguments sake we'll call in an even 9.
So there's a 24-mile day, though I think a straight 20 would have been best.
After the run I went to old pal John Turner's U.S. Hotel to hang out and have dinner. Good times.
Tuesday – 11 miles in 1:15:08
This one started out bad. My left hamstring, calf and foot hurt a lot. Better yet, they hurt to the point where I nearly abandoned the workout. But as I ran it loosened up and felt reasonably OK, though by the end of run I was tired and spent. I'm hoping to get up early and go race tomorrow, but the way my hamstring feels leaves me with some doubts.
splits:
1st 5: 34:04
2nd 5: 33:39
Wednesday – 8 miles warm-up and cool down
5 miles in 30:52
Total: 13 miles
Ran 8 miles as a warm-up and cool down with five in 30:52 in between. I wanted to run 29-something, but the mileage has definitely sapped my speed. So too has a nasty hamstring pull/strain or whatever it is. It's been hurting pretty much non-stop for two days and occasionally I feel it knot up. Interestingly, it feels kind of good the longer I run on it.
Anyway, here's how I ran in the "race:"
1 - 5:37
2 - 6:16
3 - 6:27
4 - 5:53
5 - 6:38
I had just one gear though the pace felt pretty easy for the entire run. There were a bunch of hills on the course, too. No, it wasn't hard; I was just tired.
Thursday – 15 miles in 1:41:31
I can't believe I ran as many miles as I did considering how bad my hamstrings have felt/feel, how tired I am, how much lifting/work I did this morning and how humid it was.
Crazy.
Anyway, my legs are a mess. They are tight, tired and have no snap. I think the run from Monday really zonked me and running in the race yesterday didn't help either. I probably shouldn't have done the race because it takes away from getting into to shape and preparing for the main goal -- let those weekend racers who go to all the rinky dink stuff have their plastic trophies... I want to run well in a marathon. That's the good stuff.
I'm beat after cleaning out the basement and garage, loading all the junk onto a U-Haul and taking it to the dump. It turns out that we had 1,665 pounds of crap to throw away that was sitting in the garage and basement.
Now it's gone.
splits:
1st 5: 33:49
2nd 5: 33:50
3rd 5: 33:50
Friday – 15 miles in 1:41:05
This one was a lot like yesterday. I was tight, tired, slow, but still pretty strong. There has to be something good coming from the fact that I can crank out miles like crazy.
Anyway, the weather was decent and the nice breeze kept everything relatively cool.
splits:
33:50
33:33
33:41
Saturday – 16 miles in 1:48:50
Ran on the roads and did a bunch of hills. Based on the effort I'd have to say that neglecting the hills in favor of running as much as possible on grass has been a slight tactical error. In the past most of my strength came from seeking out hills as if I was the running version of Don Quixote. Hills build strength and speed.
I guess I'll start doing more hills.
Anyway, I started out slow and easy, but picked it up to a decent pace during the second half. I feel strong and wasn't as trashed as I was the past few days.
Sunday – 7 miles in 48:49
Went easy and tried to go as slow as possible without crawling. Nonetheless, it was a fun, easy outing and I have to admit that I look forward to runs like this one.
This was a difficult one, but I rallied to go 101 miles for the week. I guess the end justifies the means.