Sunday, December 26, 2010

12/20 - 12/26, Recovery Week #5

This week was by far the most I have done in quite some time. I managed to log 65 miles this week, and even had a 7 day period that totaled over 70 from last Sunday through Saturday. I ran a very long run on Christmas that left me a little sore, but not too bad. At any rate, I am ready to go for Boston training and look forward to starting some serious training. It starts next week officially, but it some ways it has already begun.

Monday: I met Caitlyn in Worcester and we ran a 6.8 loop mile loop. Neither one of us were too keen on running too hard and it just ended up being an easy run with nothing much to write home about. Total 6.8 miles.

Tuesday: I helped out with the elementary school concert running the sound and didn't get to start this run until 8:30 or so. That's not entirely true, since I could have run earlier in the afternoon, but I just wasn't up for it. I read a lot of running-related Facebook updates that got me pumped about running, but then it was time to go to the concert. I stopped by the Oxford HS track and ran 29+ laps. It was windy, but not as cold as last time I was here. Total 7.25 miles.

Wednesday: I met Caitlyn in Spencer and we ran sort of out and back on Route 9, but on the way back we stopped at the David Prouty track and did 2 miles up there. It started to snow pretty hard and I enjoyed it so much I added a couple more miles later on that evening. Total 8.65 miles.

Thursday: Back to Haverhill. I dropped my car off in Newburyport to get the suspension work it needed. I ran back to Haverhill at an easy pace. Had to stop at Dunkin' Donuts for a bathroom break at about 8 miles. It was fun to run point to point. Total 10 miles.

Friday: I ran a half mile to Winnekenni to meet Matt and we ran an easy loop around Kenoza Lake and then some on the roads. This was done at an easy pace. I ran a tad extra getting back home. Total 7.3 miles.

Saturday: I gave myself a Christmas present by running a 30K loop all around Haverhill. The only sections I really didn't run in were Ward Hill, Rocks Village, and Riverside. It was a lot of fun, although I was getting pretty sore starting at 15 miles or so. I didn't run it all that fast, but did average just under 8 minutes a mile. It left me a little sore, but with a run this long that is to be expected. Total 18.6 miles.

Sunday: Before heading up to my brother's, I ran for about 50 minutes on North Ave into Plaistow and then back on Main Street. I started a pattern of stopping at a Dunkin' Donuts by stopping again almost 5 miles into the run. I felt much better after using the restroom. Again, not too fast averaging just under 8 minutes a mile. Total 6.4 miles.

Total for Week: 65 miles
Month: 188.9
Year: 2,257

Sunday, December 19, 2010

12/13 - 12/19, Recovery Week #4

I enjoy reading weekly updates at Frank Georges' Training Blog, so I decided to create my own training blog in addition to my daily entries that I keep at Running2Win. I will surely find it to be more accessible to my non-R2W friends.

This week was another step in the right direction. I have gradually increased my weekly mileage since the Philly Marathon with 33, 37, 44, and now 50 miles. I feel that I am preparing myself well for Boston training which will kick off with the Hangover Classic 10K at Salisbury Beach which I have run the past two years. The exciting part going into 2011 is that I'm an entirely different runner with still hopefully years of improvement left. Indeed, it is an exciting time for me.

My goal for this week was the same as last week: run every day. I missed Friday last week, but I was content because I increased the mileage by 7. It was probably in my best interest to take that day off. This week I got it in.

Monday: Afternoon - I ran with Caitlyn in Worcester who had 35 scheduled. Before our meeting time, I did the 4.25 mile loop we had planned easy and then did the loop with her again a little faster with a little extra to make it 35 minutes. The right side of my butt was a little sore. That evening I wanted a snack so I ran a mile to the store to get it and back. 10.6 miles.

Tuesday: Evening - After my concert at 9:30pm, I made my way to the track in Oxford and ran 14 laps. It was very cold and windy and I felt it. I ran close to 7 minute pace to get it over with. It was a very busy day and I was happy to just get this in even though it was a short run. I just wanted to run every day this week. 3.5 miles.

Wednesday: Afternoon - I had a gig in Woonsocket, so I used my black card to get into the Planet Fitness there and ran 5.25 miles in the high 7's with the incline on 0.1. My right butt started to act up again after 4 miles. 5.25 miles.

Thursday: Evening - Run on the road at sunset. I kept the pace down in the low 8's, but still had butt pain after 5 miles. It was a little concerning, but has since gone away. I decided to take it easy the next two days as you will read. I decided on this night to definitely not do the mile at the BU Mini-Meet. 7.3 miles.

Friday: Evening - Back to Haverhill. Decided to run on the treadmill at PF in Plaistow. Kept it slow in the low 8's with the incline on 0.1. The butt was much better, although it almost felt like it might start hurting if I kept going. 5 miles.

Saturday: Morning - Brought my car in for some work in Newburyport and walked a short distance over to the PF at Port Plaza. This time I ran 6 miles in the low 8's on the treadmill with 0.1 incline. I felt even better today and good about my sensible decision to continue running easy. 6 miles.

Sunday: Morning - Met Matt at NECC for the long run and he took us on a different loop on Middle Road, Corliss Hill, Sweet Hill, 121A, North Ave, Gile, and back to NECC via Kenoza. I told him I didn't want to run quite as fast as last week, and he was fine with that. The loop was 11.8 which we did at 7:55 pace and I added on a parking lot loop almost a half mile long at an increased pace. I felt great out there except I feel myself being weaker on the hills. Added treadmill will do that I suppose. 12.25 miles.

Total for the Week: 49.9
Month: 123.9
Year: 2,192