GOOD INTENTIONS

I really had good intentions of blogging about the current training cycle I’m in. There’s nothing like hyping an upcoming training block for 2.5 months, only to go radio silent once it starts. Of course, I have lots of excuses. The main one being that high school track starts next Monday. We currently have 175 kids signed up and about 75 of them are distance runners. That’s a lot! I’d have to go back and check last year’s numbers, but it seems like a 50% increase to me. Luckily, I have 3 new coaches to help me out. I’ve been trying to put all my notes and documentation into one place, so that we’re all on the same page.

The good news is that I’m over 3 weeks into my 18-week training cycle and according to Training Peaks, all of my workouts have been “green”. If you’re not familiar with the website, I’ve uploaded my training plan to it and then I can link my watch to upload my workouts. If I do what was planned it counts as green, if I’m within a certain percentage (I assume over or under) of the planned workout, then it’ll be highlighted yellow. Of course, if I don’t do the workout at all or just a small portion, then it turns red.

In any case, here’s a recap of the first 3 weeks.

RECAP OF WEEKS 1/29 – 2/11

These were planned cutback weeks where I ran 22 and 25 miles, respectively.

WEEK #1

RECAP OF WEEK 2/12 – 2/18

Sunday – 4 miles w/ strides

Monday – AM: 2-mile shakeout, PM: 7 miles w/ Fast Finish – last :05 @ CV

Tuesday – 6-mile foundations run

Wednesday – 6.5-mile foundations run

Thursday – AM: Strength + 2-mile shakeout, PM: 6.5 miles w/ 10 x :20 strides

Friday – AM: 6 miles w/ Scott, PM: 7M fat bike ride

Saturday – 14-mile-long run (working on fueling plan)

Summary: 54 miles of running, 7 miles of biking, and 1 strength training

 

WEEK #2

RECAP OF WEEK 2/19 – 2/25

Sunday – 4 miles

Monday – AM: Strength + 2.5-mile shakeout, PM: 6.5 miles w/ Fast Finish – last :10 @ LT

Tuesday – 6-mile foundations run

Wednesday – 6.5-mile foundations run - TREADMILL

Thursday – AM: 2.5-mile shakeout, PM: 6.5-mile Fartlek (10 x 1:00 @ 6:50 pace w/ 2:00 easy) - TREADMILL

Friday – 6 miles foundations run

Saturday – 17-mile-long run (5 solo, 12 w/ Scott)

Summary: 59 miles of running and 1 strength training, plus 18” of snow from Tuesday night through Thursday, hence all the time on the treadmill

 

WEEK #3

RECAP OF WEEK 2/26 – 3/4

Sunday – Scheduled day off

Monday – AM: Strength + 2-mile shakeout, PM: 7-miles Fartlek (1/2/3/2/1/2/3:00 w/ 1:00 easy – 1’s at 5K, 2’s at 10K, 3’s at HMP) - TREADMILL

Tuesday – 5-mile foundations run

Wednesday – 6.5-mile foundations run

Thursday – AM: 2-mile shakeout, PM: 6.5 miles w/ Hills (10 x :30 w/ 1:30 easy)

Friday – 6.5 miles foundations run

Saturday – 11-mile-long run (depletion run – no calories before or during the run)

Summary: 46.5 miles of running and 2 strength training

 

Quote of the day;

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” – William James