Training Log: (40)8K Race Week

Pretty boring training week heading into San Jose (40)8K, but here it is for the sake of completeness!

 ~*~*~San Jose (40)8K Race Week~*~*~

Grand Total: 32.5 miles

* 24.5 easy
* 3 speed
* 5 race

Monday 4/18: 1 hour strength. I hadn't taken a day completely off of running since the day after the 10 mile race so I figured I was due.

Tuesday 4/19: 2.5 warm up, 10 x (1:00 fast/1:00 jog), 2 cool down = 7.5 total. Tuesday joined a long and storied history of Tuesday-before-the-race workouts where I've felt not great. Like, not awful, but just really sluggish, heavy legs and the feeling like I want to take a little walk break every quarter mile or so. It doesn't always happen but it's happened often *enough* over the last 10-12 years that at some point I mentally started being like "Yep, it's definitely Pre-Race Terrible Tuesday, checks out!" Fortunately at this point I have also had plenty of Terrible Tuesdays followed by good races so I don't really worry about it anymore when it happens.

I kind of think this is maybe why these kinds of really short, fast, turnover-focused workouts inevitably seem to appear ~5 or so days out from a race no matter who is writing the schedule -- you're tired from training and need to pull back from the volume and longer intervals, but a few short, quick intervals can still help to wake up the legs and remind you that you can run fast even if you're currently feeling tired and sluggish. I'd be like, "Uugggghhh I feel like trash," then crank out a minute at ~6:30 pace that actually felt not at all like trash, and then go, "Huh, okay, not so bad then." I definitely felt a bit better physically after the run. IT'S LIKE COACHES KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING OR SOMETHING???

Wednesday 4/20: 5.5 easy. Still feeling a little tired, but better than yesterday.

Thursday 4/21: 3 easy + 1 hour strength. In an effort to rest up for the race, I skipped my usual Thursday lifting.

Friday 4/22: 4 easy

Saturday 4/23: 3 easy. Shakin' it out!

Sunday 4/24: 2 warm up + 5 race! (Race report here)