Two Week Recap

"Some people train knowing they're not working as hard as other people.  I can't fathom how they think." - Alberto Salazar

January 14-20

Monday - 8 mile tempo - 54:08.  This was suppose to be my 10 mile tempo run but due to rain/sleet I had to cut it short.  This was a great run not only because of the 6:46 per mile pace but also because I sucked it up and ran in terrible conditions.

Tuesday - 5 miles - 36:42.  Weather was even worse on Tuesday than it was on Monday so unfortunately this 5 miles was on the treadmill.  I vowed after this run that unless there is a hurricane or tornado I am running outside... no matter what.  

Wednesday - 7 miles.  An easy 7 mile run which I used as a recovery run since the previous 2 days were run at a fast pace.

Thursday - 5 mile tempo - 33:15.  I wanted to see what my legs could do.  This was not an all out run but it was done at a pretty quick pace.

Friday - 7 miles - 7.5 miles - 53:30.  I wanted this to be an easy slow run to get ready for my long run on Saturday; however legs felt pretty good so I wanted to push the pace in the second half of the run.  

Saturday - 25 miles -  Red, White and Blue trail x 2 at Percy Warner Park plus a lap around the cross country field.  This is a great trail that is very challenging and has roughly 3000 ft of climbing per loop.  All of the climbs are short, steep and runnable, but they will test your ability.  I ran the first 12 miles with Matt Hawkins who is running Western States this year.  We started around 5am so most of the first lap was done in the dark.  It is always good getting out and running with people as it makes the miles go by a little quicker.  The second loop was mentally challenging as I had already been to my car to refuel.  I was tempted to call it a day but I am glad I went out for another loop.  All in all, I had a great 25 miler that really tested my endurance.
  
Sunday  - 5 miles- An easy 5 mile recovery run. I wanted to run twice but life threw a curveball at me that didn't allow for that.  The first thing I woke up to on Sunday was my computer's hard drive crashing.  The rest of the day was spent working on that.  Luckily my wife forced me to go out for a run, otherwise I might have logged a goose egg on my training log for the day.

Total - 62.5

All in all this was a solid week of running.  I missed 1 workout and that is why the mileage was so low but outside of that I was pleased with all of my runs.

January 21 - 27

Monday - 8 mile tempo - 56:20.  

Tuesday - 9.5 miles. Easy

Wednesday - 5 miles. Easy

Thursday - 5 miles.  Easy

Friday - 0 miles - My streak of running at least 5 miles per day ended as I ate a bad piece of fruit and spent the afternoon sick on the couch. 

Saturday - 27.5 miles - 3:24:33.  As disappointed as I was that I missed a day of running, I realize now that it was probably for the best after this run.  This was suppose to be a long run at an 8 min per mile pace all on road; however sometimes you just have to say to hell with it and run based on how you feel.  I ran the first 13.1 miles in 1:40:45.  I was feeling good and out of no where I decided to push the pace.  I ran the second 13.1 in 1:33:40.  I was extremely happy with this run, and I hope my first race goes this well.

Sunday - 15 miles - 1:55:15.  I was unsure how my legs were going to feel after putting in that effort yesterday. My legs were a little sore in the beginning, but after a few miles they came back to me.   

Total - 70 miles

I had a good 2 weeks of running even though I missed a run each week.  My fitness is almost where I want it to be going into the Black Warrior 50k in 3 weeks.  I have 2 more weeks before my taper, and my goal for each of these weeks will be to run more than the week before.