Saturday, January 23, 2016

Hold steady

Another week done. During the school year I find myself in the sweet spot of 50-60 miles, usually closer to 50. The demands of home and school pull at the time, making a typical weekday run around 35-50 minutes. If I could get my act together I'd like to hit 60-75, but that's saved for when the days start to get a little longer.

One workout this week: 10x400 at the Dempsey Indoor at UW. Average was 69 seconds per rep, and had a solid 2 minutes of rest. It felt great to be inside where it's warm, lit, and fast. My running bros ran 300s a tad quicker. I'm glad coach didn't toss me into the deep end, as I would not have survived.

Mileage: 51.17 miles
Races: 1- 2 mile series, XC! Muddy and sloppy. Came in 12th in 11:20. Considering I ran 11:15 about a month ago in significantly better conditions (a bit muddy, but dry), this is great.

Next up: 2 mile series (track!) in 2 weeks, followed by the Valentine's Day 5k at Green Lake the following week.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Finding the trail

Back in October I was supposed to run the Twin Cities Marathon. That didn't happen due to a hamstring pull related to nerve shearing in my back. Synapses not firing appropriately, compensation to ensure proper movement, an end result of a hamstring that simply said "enough."

Fast forward to January and I'm back to training. It's been about 8-10 weeks of consistent training, and the end result is mixed. Do I still have pain? Some. It dissipated and then returned. Do I have more range of motion? Some. Same as above. As my PT exercises are done, I do well. As I drift off, pain returns. I need to keep at it.

This week: 57.99 miles. No races. 2 workouts: Tuesday float 400s, 400 on and 400 off (74-75 avg. fastest 72); Wednesday 4 x 1600 (513, 512, 512, 518). Lead balloon was dropped on the last half mile of the final rep. Getting there.

Next up: Monday indoor track workout, Thursday long reps, Saturday tempo and 2 mile XC race.