Sunday8:35 AM - 9.1 miles, 1:03:45. Same loop as last Thursday; 6 x 20-second strides on the way home. Energy levels low but legs felt almost back to normal.
4:45 PM - Visited the stretch of asphalt pictured right in an attempt to make friends with a hill that's been known to break many a marathoner's heart. I'll find out in 4 weeks whether or not I was successful. Note the appropriately placed graffiti on the side of the road.
Monday
9:45 AM - 18.4 miles, 2:00:00. Relaxed pace for the first hour, 10 x [1:30 on/1:30 off] for the next 30 minutes, then back to a relaxed pace for the last half hour. Felt strong throughout and my gimpy left leg didn't blow up on me, so for my first long run in 4 weeks I'd say it was a huge success.
Tuesday
8:10 AM - Spinning, 30:00. Spin, spin, spin your wheels, all the livelong day.
7:30 PM - 6.3 miles, 46:35. Easy run around Westboro after work. Not a mile south of 7-minute pace - didn't even come close.
Wednesday
8:25 AM - Spinning, 30:00. Didn't work all that hard this morning, or didn't sweat all that much, I should say. It's amazing the difference a well-placed fan makes.
7:35 PM - 9.4 miles, 1:02:40. First 4 miles easy, 1 mile of stride the straights/jog the turns on the WHS track, 1 mile easy, last 3 full miles steady in 5:55, 5:45, 5:40. The faster I ran, the better I felt.
Thursday
10:05 AM - 10.1 miles, 1:13:15. Felt lethargic and heavy-legged but otherwise no complaints. Cumulative fatigue is starting to set in, which is probably to be expected.
8:15 PM - 4.1 miles, 30:00. First double in 5 weeks. Felt better than this morning.
Friday
12:15 PM - 9.1 miles, 1:00:00. Mid-day romp around A-town with Jeff. Avoided the forecasted wintry mix, which was awesome.
Saturday
7:45 AM - 6 miles, 42:30. Easy does it before work. Both calves a bit tight but otherwise felt pretty good. 6 x 30-second buildup strides on the way home.
Totals - Running: 72.5 miles, 8 runs. Spinning: 1:00:00, 2 sessions. Solid week. Very happy to get a good long run in, as well as get the overall running volume back up, but I'm a bit disappointed with my lack of diligence in regard to getting my ass on the spin bike. I think the increased mileage left me a little too tired to plant my ass in the saddle on a regular basis, so I've got to make a better effort this coming week to spin the wheels more often , even if it's only for shakeout purposes. Overall though, my injuries seem to be subsiding, or at least improving, so I'm very excited to finally be getting back on track.
The plan for this coming week is to keep the volume right around 70-75 miles, get in a good long run with some marathon-paced running mixed in and put forth a solid, but sub-max, effort at the Boston Tuneup 15K in Upton on Saturday. Call it a crash course in marathon training. Hey, cramming for tests worked in college.
Quote of the Week
"I'm going in and winning it. I have tremendous respect for Bernard. I have tremendous respect for Matt. But if you don't consider yourself one of the favorites, you're foolish."
- Chris Solinsky in this month's Running Times, regarding his goal for the 2008 Olympic Trials.
3 comments:
Fra: Read this and internalize. It's parts of the song Marathon by my beloved RUSH:
...It's a test of ultimate will
The heartbreak climb uphill
Got to pick up the pace
If you want to stay in the race
More than blind ambition
More than simple greed
More than a finish line
Must feed this burning need
In the long run...
...You can do a lot in a lifetime
If you don't burn out too fast
You can make the most of the distance; First you need endurance - First you've got to last...
Very nice comeback long run Agent #1063!
Don't forget to wave when you pass by the brown house on Malvern! I swear to God, Nana and Poppy have started asking about how you are doing more then they ask about Mark. This is especially true since apparently you haven't been running by as much lately...you keep this up and soon you'll be getting money from them too!
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