GOLDILOCKS

What do we do when things are going well and we’re “motivated and ready for more”? We keep pushing to find out where “the line” is. “The line” being that hard-to-define limit between ‘just right’ and ‘too much’. I’m not sure if I’ve crossed it, but I feel like I’m getting close.

I had a very hard session on April 24^th – I lifted in the morning, followed by a 3-mile shakeout. Then at noon I ran 10 miles that included 7 x 4:00 at CV w/ 2:00 rest. I remember looking forward to that workout because I have a nice 10-mile loop that I haven’t run in a while. The workout went well, and the rest of the week was supposed to be high volume. However, I ended up skipping my Thursday workout and even took a day off on Saturday (that was mainly due to being on my feet at a track meet all day – and having a long run planned for Sunday).

Sunday’s run was the longest of the program, 22 miles. I ended up running with my buddy Derek who’s a little bit faster than me. I also ran my last 20 miler with him and that felt good, so I didn’t hesitate to run with him again – especially since it was 40 degrees with 25 mph winds, and no one what’s to run solo in those conditions. I remember getting to mile 12 and already being rather tired. At 16 I reminded myself that I only had a 10K left. We did finish the run and energy-wise I felt okay, I just didn’t have a lot of pop in my legs.

Since then, I’ve been focusing on recovery while trying to get in some harder work. All while reminding myself of what Alexi Pappas’s coach told her about the Rule of Thirds; if you’re training for a big goal, 1/3 of your workouts should be awesome, 1/3 should be so-so and 1/3 should be bad. If they’re all awesome, you’re not pushing hard enough. If they’re all bad, you’re pushing too hard. I’ve also been thinking about Scott Fauble’s training in Inside a Marathon and how exhausted he says he is in the middle of his marathon cycle. Granted, he’s a professional runner, but I should feel some residual tiredness after a 22-mile run.

 

WEEK #10

RECAP OF WEEK 4/16 – 4/22

Sunday – Day off
Monday – AM: Strength, NOON: 7 miles
Tuesday – 10 miles w/ 6 miles at 7:30 steady-state pace
Wednesday – 5 miles
Thursday – AM: Strength + 3-mile shakeout, PM: 5 miles including 8 hill repeats w/ trac team
Friday – 7 miles on trails w/ Scott
Saturday – 14-mile depletion run w/ Nordica (no calories before or during)
Summary: 51 miles and 2 strength sessions

 

WEEK #11

RECAP OF WEEK 4/23 – 4/29

Sunday – 4 easy miles
Monday – AM: Strength + 3-mile shakeout, NOON: 10 miles including 7 x 4:00 @ CV w/ 2:00 jog
Tuesday – 6 easy miles
Wednesday – 7 miles
Thursday – AM: Strength + 3-mile shakeout
Friday – 6 miles on trails w/ Pat
Saturday – Day Off
Summary: 39 miles of running and 2 strength training

Quote of the day;

“All the preparation you’ve done will finally be paying off!” - from a fortune cookie a received recently