This week was much better than last, owing mainly to the fact that it wasn't outrageously hot. I still missed a few runs due to poor sleep (and the resultant fatigue) and unplanned time constraints; but overall, the mileage was good (123) and I fit in a couple of good workouts. I got a bit of functional strength work in as well, though I'm still a bit behind on my strength and stability generally. I can feel the weakness when I'm running for a long time in particular. I need to be a bit more diligent and more well-planned to get that ancillary work in 4+ times a week. Also, the increase in volume has me quickly (re)learning just how much that kind of mileage takes out of you. I need to pay more attention to optimizing recovery with more sleep and better nutrition.
Monday: AM - 10 miles moderate
Felt pretty sluggish to start, but got a nice run in on the boulevards and Bloomingdale Trail in the end. No double, as a surprise visit from an old friend led to afternoon drinks in the lovely weather.
Tuesday: AM - 18 miles moderate
Ran down to meet my buddy Rich Heffron (who is coming off a 2:31 marathon PR at Grandma's), ran together on the south side before a nice, cheap brunch at Hyde Park's Cafeteria.
PM - 10 miles easy
Lakefront path.
Wednesday: AM - 10 miles moderate-plus; Functional Strength Routine 1
Got going pretty quickly, sub-6 pace for a bit there, running on the Lakefrton path.
PM - 5 miles easy
Boulevards.
Thursday: AM - 9 miles easy
In LaSalle-Peru, in north central Illinois, visiting my dad and a few of his brothers. Easy run down to and along the river.
PM - 8 miles easy
Farm roads home from the airport hangar. Had a few too many beers before this run; unpleasant.
Friday: AM - 18 miles total: 4 miles warmup, light drills/strides, 12 mile tempo, 2 mile cooldown
Planned tempo of 10 miles, but I felt good, so I extended it a bit. The first 10 were on the tow path along the Illinois & Michigan Canal, which had a few mileage markers I used to check splits. Averaged about 5:45s for the full tempo with the second half a bit faster than the first. Felt good to hit a nice workout—looking to repeat this every week.
PM - Functional Strength Routine 2
Saturday: PM - 5 miles easy
Just an easy shakeout in the afternoon. Hadn't been getting quite enough sleep while traveling the last few days, and I was just beat.
Sunday: 30 mile basic aerobic tempo
Didn't feel great, as I had gone out the night before for my brother-in-law's birthday, but I did get 10.5 hours of sleep, which made a huge difference. I was originally planning on 24 miles with a second half progression run, but I didn't feel like I'd have a speedy second half in me today. So I just locked into the 6:00-6:10 range by the second mile and held it there for 15 miles out (south on the Lakefront). Accidentally dropped a 5:48 16th mile, maybe thinking about a race or something, before reigning it in a bit. Still dropped a handful of sub-6's on the way back north, and negative split the run by two minutes for a 3:01:58 total time. (The 30 miles wasn't GPS-measured, so it wasn't dead on accurate, but between mile splits on the Lakefront path and city blocks measuring 1/8 of a mile exactly, I can get it within 100 yards anyway.) I didn't have any fuel with me either, nor water, so I did this on zero calories and with just a water fountain stop every 15-20 minutes. No bonk, so that was a nice spot check on where I currently stand from a fuel-efficiency standpoint. And a positive stimulus to keep things going in the right direction in that regard as well.
Total: 123 miles, 2x FS
Got going pretty quickly, sub-6 pace for a bit there, running on the Lakefrton path.
PM - 5 miles easy
Boulevards.
Thursday: AM - 9 miles easy
In LaSalle-Peru, in north central Illinois, visiting my dad and a few of his brothers. Easy run down to and along the river.
PM - 8 miles easy
Farm roads home from the airport hangar. Had a few too many beers before this run; unpleasant.
Friday: AM - 18 miles total: 4 miles warmup, light drills/strides, 12 mile tempo, 2 mile cooldown
Planned tempo of 10 miles, but I felt good, so I extended it a bit. The first 10 were on the tow path along the Illinois & Michigan Canal, which had a few mileage markers I used to check splits. Averaged about 5:45s for the full tempo with the second half a bit faster than the first. Felt good to hit a nice workout—looking to repeat this every week.
PM - Functional Strength Routine 2
Saturday: PM - 5 miles easy
Just an easy shakeout in the afternoon. Hadn't been getting quite enough sleep while traveling the last few days, and I was just beat.
Sunday: 30 mile basic aerobic tempo
Didn't feel great, as I had gone out the night before for my brother-in-law's birthday, but I did get 10.5 hours of sleep, which made a huge difference. I was originally planning on 24 miles with a second half progression run, but I didn't feel like I'd have a speedy second half in me today. So I just locked into the 6:00-6:10 range by the second mile and held it there for 15 miles out (south on the Lakefront). Accidentally dropped a 5:48 16th mile, maybe thinking about a race or something, before reigning it in a bit. Still dropped a handful of sub-6's on the way back north, and negative split the run by two minutes for a 3:01:58 total time. (The 30 miles wasn't GPS-measured, so it wasn't dead on accurate, but between mile splits on the Lakefront path and city blocks measuring 1/8 of a mile exactly, I can get it within 100 yards anyway.) I didn't have any fuel with me either, nor water, so I did this on zero calories and with just a water fountain stop every 15-20 minutes. No bonk, so that was a nice spot check on where I currently stand from a fuel-efficiency standpoint. And a positive stimulus to keep things going in the right direction in that regard as well.
Total: 123 miles, 2x FS
