I have to say, I've been really enjoying this little mini training cycle. I am very far from "peak fitness," though if we're honest, I don't even really know what that means anymore, and I kind of don't care. That said, let's look at some facts:
Fact: I've ramped my mileage back up to a few 40+ mile weeks and it's feeling good. There are days when I'm tired, but it's a very reasonable, understandable level of tired that I'm able to recovery from, not bone-deep, existential, mental and psychological exhaustion that leaves me incapable of doing anything.
Fact: Even if I'm tired before a run, I generally start to feel much better once I get started (vs in 2021 when I would often feel worse).
Fact: I'm running workouts now as fast or faster than I was in 2016 when I Boston Qualified.
Fact: I look forward to workouts instead of dreading them or having panic attacks about them. When they are physically hard, it feels totally manageable and like something I am in control of, vs. something that is happening to me.
I don't know how next Sunday is going to go performance-wise (or even which distance I will be running!) but I'm feeling very optimistic. Not PR optimistic, but like I'll be able to put up a strong effort I'll be proud of after, and that's what is important to me right now.
Let's take a look at how the week shaped up despite some unusual scheduling issues:
Grand Total: 43.5 miles
- * 22.7 easy
* 4.5 speed
* 4.3 tempo
* 12 long
Monday 3/7: Rest. This was our last day in Tahoe; the others skied more but sadly I had to work. I'd planned to get another easy run in before we had to head home but I had too much work to do and didn't have time. That said, my body had had a hard weekend on not a lot of sleep so I didn't feel too bad about it.
Tuesday 3/8: 1 hour strength + 2.75 warm up, 6 x 800m/400m, 2.75 cool down 8 easy
- Since we were out of town Monday, I moved my strength session to Tuesday morning. On the schedule I was also supposed to do a track workout but that seemed like not the best plan after squatting heavy that morning, so instead I swapped it with Wednesday's easy 8 miles.
Wednesday 3/9: 2.75 warm up, 6 x .5 mile/.25 mile, 2.75 cool down
- And, sigh, the joke was on me -- while I definitely felt a bit fresher and more rested, I *definitely* felt MUCH more sore in the quads! So I don't know how much difference it ultimately made that I did this workout Wednesday instead of Tuesday. My track was closed for a school track meet, so to the roads for half mile intervals it was. I was hoping I could run these at 7:00/mile pace or a little faster but wasn't sure if they'd be as fast on the roads as on the track. My legs were BIG MAD at me by the end but I managed them all in the 3:20-3:28 range until the last one (3:32). Afterward I came home and ate a cupcake.
Thursday 3/10: 4 easy Rest day.
- I had an evening work event this day so I'd planned to try to get a short run in earlier in the day, but I think part of me had always known that was a pipe dream. I was super tired by the end of the day though so I think a rest day was a good call.
Friday 3/11: 3 warm up, 2 x 2 miles @ tempo/HM pace / 3:00 jog, 2.45 cool down = 9.75 total
- Coach said anywhere in the tempo-to-HM pace for these intervals was fine. Still trying to nail down what feels like "tempo pace" and "half marathon race pace" and I don't think I will know until I actually run some races in the 6-13 mile range. My intervals were 15:12 and 14:56 which I think is DEFINITELY closer to tempo pace right now. Still a challenging pace for me BUT I was pleasantly surprised that it felt *doably* hard for two-mile intervals.
Saturday 3/12: 4 easy
Sunday 3/13: 12 long
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