Week in Review: 10.27.14 to 11.2.14

Monday: 6 miles easy.

Tuesday: Workout! 2 by 6 minutes at T pace, 3 by 3 minutes at I pace and a mile of 200 ins/out plus a leg lift at the gym.

Wednesday: Prorated off day, 7 miles. Ridiculously sore.

Thursday: 4.5 mile stagger through Burlington.

Friday: 9.5 mile run with Annie. Much colder than I anticipated!

Saturday: 7 mile run with Will in the sleety-cold.

Sunday: 11 mile run with 15 at T pace in the wind.

Total: 47 miles.

October Total: 146 miles.

Post-marathon progress is slow! I’m working to balance needing to get quality work in for Vegas (and for whatever I do in the winter) and respecting my body’s continuing recovery. It’s not easy! I’m still fighting a cold (sure sign that my immune system is still down from the marathon) and dealt with serious soreness this week after lifting for the first time since taper started. I’m also dealing a bit with the “blahs.” Somehow picking running routes and getting out the door is really challenging for me recently. I’m luck to have running friends to rope into going with me but it’s still a struggle.

Anyone else struggling to get their mojo back post marathon?

Week in Review 10.20.14 to 10.26.14

It’s rough trying to get back into the swing of things after a big race, even when you have another race just ahead. It’s even rougher when you get an atrocious cold the day you are ready to start doing workouts again. I spent Tuesday through Friday down for the count with a head cold which proceeded to a chest cold and racking cough over the weekend. I’m still running easy but wasn’t able to get a workout in last week unfortunately.

Monday: 2.5 Miles

Tuesday: 2.5 Miles and full body lift.

Wednesday: Warmup, 1.5 miles of 200 meter ins and outs, cooldown. Total of 6.3 miles. Felt pretty good to shake it out but quads are definitely still tender.

Thursday: 6.3 mile run.

Friday: 2 mile run.

Saturday: 4 miles at the State Meet.

Sunday: 12 mile long run. Feeling almost normal.

Total Miles: 35.5

Thanks to my high mileage earlier in the cycle, I don’t have to worry too much about endurance between now and Vegas (20 days!) Instead, I’ll be focusing on getting back into some tempo runs and getting my speed sharpened up.

Weeks in Review: 10.6.14 to 10.12.14

10/6/14 to 10/12/14

One of the calmest, oddest taper weeks of my life. School and coaching were busy and we had a lot of stuff going on in trying to get our house set up again. By the time Saturday arrived, I hadn’t even finalized my outfit or fueling plan.

Monday: 4.7 miles early morning with Katie. Had to wear half tights!

Tuesday: 4.6 miles with striders in the last mile.

Wednesday: 2 miles at T pace (6:14, 6:08) and a mile of 200 ins and outs. Cold and windy but felt good when I got into a groove. 6 miles total.

Thursday: Off day.

Friday: 3.5 mile run with striders.

Saturday: 3.5 mile run with striders.

Sunday: 26.2 in 2:54:39. Race Report here.

10/13/14 to 10/19/14

Easy. No running! Monday and Tuesday were pretty sore days, so I just foam rolled and tried to be easy on my legs. I took a short walk with the dog on Friday and jogged a little at the race yesterday. My legs feel ok when I’m walking but were still made of concrete when I jogged yesterday, so I’m giving it a full week before I get back into training for Vegas.

In even more exciting news, it’s States Week!! This team has put in an enormous amount of work this year and started their peaking work last week. This week, we’ll hit full peak and get them ready to crush the State Meet next Saturday. I continue to be impressed with their grit and determination and I’m excited to see what they do next week.

Week in Review 9.28.14 to 10.5.14 (The Final Countdown)

It’s always amazing to get to the week before a marathon, especially with most of your sanity and limbs intact. Usually by this time in taper, everything hurts and I’m not convinced I can start. This time around, however, my life is so chaotic that I’m almost appreciative of the opportunity to only run a few miles a day. In a perfect world, I’d keep my taper stress-free. Instead, we had an exam, our housemates unexpectedly moved out leaving an enormous financial and physical mess, and during this coming week, our clerkships are assigned which determines what we’ll be doing and where we’ll be rotating for the next year of our lives. Just a little stress. Regardless, I’m thrilled to find that I actually feel really good. I have no sore “things” that I’m hoping will go away, I’m in a decent mood and running feels pretty good.

Monday: 4.25 miles easy.

Tuesday: 5.5 miles.

Wednesday: 7.5 mile workout. Warmup, 3 by Tempo Mile at 6:04, 6:06 and 5:54 then 4 by 200 really effing hard.

Thursday: 4 miles easy.

Friday: Off Day.

Saturday: 5 miles at Thetford. Typical coaching day with sprinting around, standing and finally a 3 mile run after the race with the varsity girls.

Sunday: 8 miles with 3 at MP (6:35 today). Legs felt pretty punky but I stood for 16 hours yesterday…

Total Miles: 40 miles. 50% of normal, right on schedule.

Current Weather Forecast: Low of 42 on Saturday night, high of 62 on Sunday “mostly cloudy with a little rain.” Here’s hoping the rain holds off but the temperature stays the same.

Week in Review: 9.22.14 to 9.28.14

Taper has begun and par for the course, I’m now terrified that I’m going to break an ankle, get pneumonia or get hit by a rogue biker. The last item was close to reality on my long run today, as the bike path was packed with people taking advantage of unseasonably warm temps to evidently learn how to bike.

Monday: 7.2 miles with the team at mostly recovery pace with a few hills at a faster pace. Feeling pretty good from the workout.

Tuesday: 11 miles that was supposed to be easy and became less easy when I got totally and utterly lost in Starbird. Beach abs afterward.

Wednesday: 12.7 mile tempo run. Warmup, 3 by 10 minutes at T pace then 5 by 30 seconds hard and cooldown.

Thursday: Official beginning of taper. 7 mile recovery run.

Friday: 8.3 miles with 4 striders on the track.

Saturday: 5 miles at Manchester Invitational. Stood in the hot sun all day, which wasn’t optimal but the girls ran SO well, who could care.

They insisted on the porto-potty pose. I love them.

Sunday: 14.75 miles. 3 mile warm up, 40 minutes at T pace (6:35 today) and cooldown to the 2 hour mark. Can’t believe this is it. Total body lift afterward.

Total Miles: 66

Besides some short tempo efforts and striders, all the hard work is over. Now all I can do is drink lots of water, get plenty of sleep and work on getting my mind ready for 26.2.

Number of Weather Checks: 1 (For the record, low of 37 the night before and high of 62 and cloudy for race day. I’ll take that.)

Week in Review 9.15.14 to 9.21.14

There’s a saying about a bad dress rehearsal indicating that you’re ready for a great performance. Here’s hoping that applies to running too, because it has been a disaster of a “rehearsal” week! I came into last week assuming it would be a normal schedule, so I took Monday really easy following my big workout on Sunday which put me behind on miles with the intent of making them up easily later in the week. Then I had a crazy day in clinic on Wednesday which meant that I missed my run entirely, a workout that got cut short on Thursday and insane wind on my race shakeout on Saturday. To top it off, I had a shitty race yesterday. Woof. It was a frustrating Sunday and I would not say I’m heading into the final 3 weeks with a whole lot of confidence.

Monday: Recovery 6 and yoga. Feeling pretty good post-workout.

Tuesday: Early morning 10.2 miler with Carl plus striders at the end. Feeling great.

Wednesday: Off, unscheduled and really mad about it. Lifted arms in the evening.

Thursday: Rushed workout. 7 by 5 minutes at T pace and 2 by 200 at really-effing-hard pace. Jumped in the car and drove to my meeting without a cooldown. Brilliant.

Friday: 10 mile recovery run through the Intervale.

Saturday: 7 miles of a laughable run. Convinced Will that we should go to the Causeway. Not too bad on the way out, but turned around to a 40 mph headwind. Because we didn’t want to trash my hip flexors, we walked for a mile before jogging back. Striders after.

Sunday: Downtown 10K in 40:27 thanks to a 24 mph headwind and 60+ dewpoint. Felt fine on the warmup and during the race (besides weather conditions) then spent 45 minutes post-race with my head down on Church Street with heart palpitations. Was in serious Sinus Tach until 10:30 (laying down on my bed racing at 140 bpm) and felt off for the rest of the day even when I got back in normal rhythm. Total of 10 miles and total frustration.

It’s hard not to have a week like the last one and not have a total meltdown, get in your bed and decide to scratch all future races. I’m resisting the urge to do that, running full volume until Friday of this week and going into taper with the hope that all my hard work this summer will come together in three weeks.

Week in Review 9.8.14 to 9.14.14

The madness continues in cardiology but I’m loving this unit so I didn’t mind the schedule this week. We were off this week from races which made coaching duties far easier. We also clicked by the “1 month to go” mark, which means that I’m heading towards taper. I’m always happy/sad for taper to arrive. On the one hand, the mileage is easier and my legs don’t hurt as much. On the other hand, taper means all the hay is in the barn and there’s nothing else I can do to change my fate on race day.

Monday: Off Day, prorated at 10.3 miles. One of the longest days I’ve had in medical school and the only birthday in recent history that I haven’t run!

Tuesday: 11.3 recovery miles with 4 strides.

Wednesday Noon: Tempo run. Warmup, 5 by mile at T pace, Cooldown for 9 miles.

Wednesday Afternoon: More tempo work with the team. 10 by 400 at 91 to 93. Total of 6 miles.

Thursday: 7 painful recovery miles. Right IT band and hamstring totally locked up.

Friday: 10.2 miles through the Intervale. 2 laps of stride the straights, jog the curves.

Saturday: 10 miles on Tarbox.

Sunday: 16 miles with 11 at MP, which was about 6:35 pace today according to Garmin. It was reading 6:20 in the open areas which Will thought seemed realistic. Regardless, glad to get that in since a chest cold is settling in today.

I did not do a good job of lifting this week; have to find some time next week to at least get basic work in. I’m also racing the Downtown 10K next Sunday and hoping to break my streak of being 4th and actually land on the podium.

How was your week? Did Fall finally arrive where you are? What races are coming up for you?

Week in Review 9.1.14 to 9.7.14

Just when I think I have the hang of balancing medical school, coaching and running:

No Words CRR

Monday: 9.3 Recovery

Tuesday: 9 miles.

Wednesday: 11 miles with 2 by 20 at T pace with 5 miles in between. Hot and hill but kept my heart at 170.

Thursday: 9.7 recovery.

Friday: 10.3 miles with 4 striders at the end.

Saturday am: 5 miles. Coaching snafu.

Saturday pm: 5 miles, trying to finish the week up.

Sunday: 20.5 miles and nailed my nutrition! Root Beer Gu is amazing.

Total Mileage: 80 miles.

This week was just plain overwhelming schedule-wise. I survived, my team is still intact (and ran incredibly well on Saturday) and I think I’m still enrolled in medical school. 5 more weeks to go!

 

Week in Review 8.18.14 to 8.24.14

This was just one of those weeks where I did not feel like a runner. In fact, I felt a lot more like this baby horse trying to stand up every time I tried to walk.

Monday: 9.35 mile run. Tried to do my workout and it just wasn’t going to happen.

Tuesday: 8 mile run plus lifted arms.

Wednesday AM: 1.5 miles with the Girls for the Relay.

Wednesday PM: 7.4 miles with some shakeout strides.

Thursday: 9.55 miles with 7 by 5 minutes at T pace. Still felt clunky and awkward. Lifted legs afterward.

Friday: 8 mile recovery run out in Underhill.

Saturday: 4.5 mile easy run just to move, out of miles for the week!

Sunday: 17 mile long run in the heat with 20 minutes at T pace. Felt horrible from the start so just glad to get through it.

Total Miles: 65.3

Arm Lift, Leg Lift

Plank Set every night.

I’m hoping that this funky week passes and my legs feel better through this week. I’m hoping for a Wednesday workout which gives me plenty of time to recover before my race on Sunday even in the midst of an 80 mile week.

How was your week of training? Anyone else have the mid-cycle blues?

 

Prorating Miles and Training Load

I’ve had two questions in the last week about how I structure my training cycles, one very nice from Ryan and one not so nice. I can guarantee that this blog makes me feel the opposite of impressive. Exposed and vulnerable maybe, but not impressive.

Yep, just boosting my self esteem.

What does it mean to “prorate” an off day and why do I do it? The short answer is that I prorate to make sure that my daily volume is accurate for whatever week I’m in. From a physiological perspective, our legs don’t know that it’s Monday, Tuesday or Thursday. They respond to a cumulative load over a period of time. I run on a 4 week microcycle with 3 weeks at volume (75 to 80 miles a week right now) with 1 adaptation week (85% of volume, so 66.6 miles). I also take two full off days a month, giving me 28 to 29 days of training a month depending on the month.

For volume weeks, I take 80 miles, subtract my long run distance for the week (say 18) and divide the remainder by 6, which leaves me a daily volume of 10.3 miles. I do the same for adaptation weeks, but start with 66 miles instead, which reduces my daily volume to 8. When I have an off day, I just record the day as equal to the mileage I would have run that day. If I miss an unscheduled day (like I did after the Great Desert Adventure of 2014), it goes in as a zero.

Could I leave planned rest days as zeroes? Sure. I used to do that but found that it was harder to look at cumulative work when I had to always go back and figure out if that week was one with a rest day or if I had messed up my mileage. For example, if I drop out my prorated days from the last month, my miles would have been 68.6, 79, 51.8, 78.8. It’s easier for me (and my coach) to watch patterns when it’s 78.1, 79, 59.4, 78.8 (Volume, Volume, Adaptation, Volume).

How do you plan out your rest days? What kind of a mileage cycle are you on?