Week Four (December 20th to December 26th)

Sunday (12/20): 9.3 miles in 65:00 (6:59/mi)

8:50am - Last run at Rachs house. Took it nice and easy and ran on a portion of the bike path which was pretty snowy but fun. Was a bit sore, so I was thinking about taking it easy and only doing 5-6 before the ride home, but as I got going I felt better so I continued on.

Monday (12/21): 18.6 miles in 2:00.00 (6:27/mi)

10:00am - I ran 40 minutes on my own before meeting up with Brian, Roland and Justin. We all did 57 minutes together, and then I continued on my own some more. Between 1:40-1:50hr I did a push which averaged out to ~5:13/mi. I then did a cooldown with 5 strides within it. It was nice to break up almost half the run by running with people. The only thing I didn't like about the run was that I had to stop a little bit when we were waiting for everyone to get to the high school to meet up (I don't like breaking up runs - especially long runs).

Tuesday (12/22): 13.1 miles in 1:23.00 (6:20/mi)

11:00am - Ran a new route near my house. It as pretty awesome as the roads were undulating and curvy – no long straights which is nice. Ill have to run around this area more often. I didn't plan on going as far as this, but I figured I might as well since I may not be able to double later (I was also enjoying the run anyways). After the run I did 8×12s hill sprints. I was planning on doing 10 but my quads and form were shot at 8 (probably from the hilly run too).

Wednesday (12/23): 16.7 miles in 1:36.30 (5:47/mi)

9:00am - Some AI stretching before the run. Drove to guilderland center because there was a great 3 mile loop (Hurst Rd - with some easy hilly runs) for my workout. I did a 16 min warm up with a few strides. The workout was 4x3mi ~marathon effort w/ 90s active recovery between each. The first rep started off a little rough as my left shin was tightening up pretty bad 10 minutes in. Then I took a dive going around a turn during my recovery jog. I started the next rep and figured if my shin kept up that I would have to pull the workout - but it went away right after my recovery jog which was nice. I had no splits for the 3 mile loops so it was all based off effort. It seemed as if I was progressively getting faster, but the times didn't indicate that (until the last one). I felt pretty strong the entire time, the first rep actually felt the toughest - once I got going it was pretty monotonous which was helpful. The last rep was pretty progressive, I was moving pretty well over the last 5 min. After the workout I did a 14 min cooldown with 3 ins and outs, and then a couple strides after the cooldown. I also noticed after the run that my left knee took a beating when I fell as there was a decent cut, some skin missing and apparently I had been bleeding a bit during the entire workout. Overall I'm pretty pleased, I got what I wanted out of it (and didn't have to stop early) - and it was very manageable. My calves were really sore, which was helped by some AI stretching once I got home.

Summary:

4x3 mi (15:45.7, 15:52.6, 15:56.3, 15:42.7) - 90 sec active rec

12 miles total in 1:03.15 (5:16.2/mi)

Thursday (12/24):  OFF

Got in 1 minute of running in the morning and the whole time my right achilles had a shooting pain. Ironically my left calf/achilles was bothering me last night so I focused on taking care of that one. Decided to take the day off as I was going to take one off soon anyways. Iced and stretched throughout the day. The problem with my left foot got pretty aggravated after yesterday too, but that generally happens after a workout and then it diminishes over time.

Friday (12/25): AM - 10.9 miles in 1:11.30 (6:34/mi) PM - 6.2 miles in 42:30 (6:51/mi)

Merry Christmas!

10:30am - Was at my dads. I feel like it's much nicer running here as there are more roads to choose from, more rolling hills and less traffic. The day off yesterday helped the achilles significantly (didn't feel it at all). It's amazing what a little patience does. Progressively picked up the pace throughout the run.

4:00am - An out and back after eating, so I took it easy. Probably couldn't have run faster than this anyways as my stomach was quite full.

Saturday (12/26): AM - 9.8 miles in 1:08.00 (6:56/mi) PM - 5.8 miles in 37:00 (6:23/mi)

10:00am - Ran out to King Rd to find a good hill for my workout (10x45s hill reps). I found a good spot which turned out to be 7-10% for a little less than a 1/4 mile, which worked well. The recovery was just a jog back down to the start which ended up being around 80-85s each time. Each hill was run around 3k effort. My quads were already feeling it a good amount 4 reps in...so it made for a rough next 6. I'm glad this I got this in as I obviously need this type of work. Aerobically I'm pretty strong, but neuromuscularly Im still lagging. Gotta love anaerobic work - had a headache for the first 5-10min of the cooldown. Good workout overall, and it was pretty darn nice out.

3:30pm - Back in Altamont, started out slow but progressed as usual. Running in the rain because it was 30-40* out (better than freezing rain). Nice to get a run in after being in the car - even if it was only an hour. 

Week Summary:

Even though the day off wasn't planned and I may not have wanted it, it probably worked out well for me. I didn't get in as many doubles as usual, but that's just due to the fact that this was a down week in term of volume. Granted, I still had two high volume days with my LR (obviously) and the primary which doubled as a Pseudo LR. I'm happy about the primary workout as it's the longest workout I've ever done and a good precursor to some key workouts I'd like to do. The secondary wasn't anything special, but definitely touched on a system that needs some attention. The only bad thing about this week was not getting in any drills or core stuff. In the beginning of the week I simply didn't have time during the day as there were much more important obligations, next week I'll be back on track.

90.4 miles

9:43 hrs

Primary: 4x3 miles around marathon effort

Secondary: 10x45s hills around 3k effort

8 runs

  

Week three (December 13th to December 19th)

Sunday (12/13): 9 miles in 1:04.30 (7:10/mi)

4:00 pm - Ran with Jerry and Stermer at PALL for a little while, then the 2 mile loop. The roads were pretty darn slippery, so it made for a nice easy day. Really hoping this freezing rain stuff doesn't stay around long.

Monday (12/14): 18 miles in 2:00.00 (6:40/mi)

12:20pm - Ran with Justin and Stermer for a little while, and Fred for the whole time. The weather was great, clear roads and about 38*.  We started off pretty easy, but slowly progressed over time to about 6:20s. There was a pretty solid 10 minute climb around 90 min in to the run. It was a good substitute for a short tempo, despite not being as long. The run went by pretty quick, it helped to have someone to run with the whole time.

Tuesday (12/15): AM - 12.8 miles in 1:26.00 (6:43/mi) PM - 6.7 miles in 40:00 (5:58/mi)

9:30 am - Ran with Justin, Jerry and Stermer for a large portion of the run, then alone for ~20 minutes. I didn't even feel like I had done a long run yesterday (real good sign - looks like my body is recovering quickly). We started off relatively easy and progressively got quicker (as usual). Once it stopped raining it was quite nice out. I did 10 strides over the last 15 minutes of the run ranging from 15-30s with two hills incorporated as well.

4:30am -  Ran on my own, started off a bit quick and kept the pace going. Felt pretty good and enjoyed the night and weather. Nothing else to special to mention.

Wednesday (12/16): AM - 12.3 miles in 1:27.00 (7:04/mi) PM - 6.3 miles in 44:00 (6:58/mi)

10:00am - Ran with Stermer. A new loop which was a nice change. It had freshly snowed over night, so it made for a nice environment to run in (except for the slush on the side of the roads). After Stermer finished up I did 7x10s hill sprints. I was planning on doing 10 but I called it early since my right hamstring was tightening up a bit. 

*No time to do a PM run, had to work on research presentation before class.

Thursday (12/17): AM (primary) - 13.7 miles in 1:21.00 (5:55/mi)  PM - 6.3 miles in 44:00 (6:58/mi)

9:00am - Form drills and AI stretching before the workout.15 minute warm up in to a 55 min tempo. Yet again I had to cut it short (wanted 60 min) due to stomach problems which started 10 min in to the workout. Did a portion of the 2 mile loop, the out to Kellogg and back. The way back was pretty rough as it was in to the wind for the 4 miles with a -3* windchill and more uphill so the pace was slowed. Therefore the pace wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for in terms of progression, but the effort was there and I was sort of held back by my stomach. Either way I got 55 minutes in for 9.9mi (5:32/mi). 11 minutes cooldown with 3 strides.
5:00pm - Ran at the Y on the treadmill next to Rach. Every 5 min I would increase the incline one grade per minute up to 9%. Ran in podium shorts, seems like they’ll be good shorts to race in from now on. Feeling fine from this morning, no soreness or anything.

Friday (12/18): AM - 8 miles in 54:30 (6:49/mi) PM - 8.6 miles in 1:13.30 (8:33/mi)

10:00am - Ran around Rochester. Most of the roads are covered in packed snow which sort of sucks. Looks like most of my runs here are going to be slow. Hopefully I'll be able to get my secondary in.

4:00pm - Ran with Rach. Real slow but I guess it can work as a recovery run.

Supplemental: AI post am run. 15 min core, form drills, strength, foot drills.

Saturday (12/19): AM - 5 miles in 35:00 (5:00/mi) PM (secondary) 9.2 miles in 54:20 (5:54/mi)

9:30am - Again, an easy run. Calves and back real sore from the strength stuff yesterday. Hoping to be able to get the workout in later today.

3:00pm - 3:00 pm - Rach and I were pressed for time because she had a family reunion we had to get to. We got to the track around 3:05 and wanted to leave by 4. Therefore I had to ditch my original workout plan and figure something out that I could squeeze in. I also had (thought) I had to reduce the warm up, so I did 10 min but with moderate strides. The workout was:
1600 (10k/5k effort), 800 (5k), 400 (3k), 800 (5k), 400 (3k), 1600 (1/2 MP)
The recovery was 600m (active) for everything, then 45s before the last 1600. It was a bit tougher than expected as my legs were pretty sore after the drills yesterday, and the fact that my legs aren't used to running faster than 5min pace.
Splits - 4:38.8, 2:15.9, 64.8, 2:20.1, 65.9, 4:56.1
The 2nd 800 and 400s weren't as fast as I would've liked, but I'm still happy with it. The recovery intervals averaged out to be 5:55/mi. I had 18 minutes to cooldown since Rach and I decided we didn't have to rush as much as originally planned. I threw in 2x200 (31, 29) during the cooldown.

Week Summary:

 Volume was slightly higher than planned (again), but still very manageable. Glad I was able to get two decent workouts in this week. The secondary helped identify that I need more efficiency work (which was to come anyways). Although the primary went well considering the conditions I still think have a ways to go in aerobic strength development, which means I'd like my long runs a little faster (and maybe some modified LR's every 2-3 wks). This next week should be a little lower in volume - sort of a recovery week, but not easing up on workouts.

109.6 miles

12:20 hrs (longer than usual b/c of the slow run)

Primary: 55 minute progressive tempo

Secondary: 1600 (10k/5k effort), 800 (5k), 400 (3k), 800 (5k), 400 (3k), 1600 (1/2 MP)

11 runs

 

Week two (December 6th - December 12th).

Sunday (12/6): 12 miles in 1:23.00 (6:55/mi)
2:00pm - Ran with Justin out to Limehollow where he ended up rolling his ankle real bad - not good. So we took it easy in the trails until we got to Mclean were it was safe to run at a normal pace again. I was planning on doing my long run but my quads were surprisingly fatigued (I guess last week caught up to me)...so I just chose to put it off until tomorrow. This run went by real quick.

Monday (12/7): 17 miles in 1:56.00 (6:49/mi)

2:30pm - Started off running alone, then met up with Eric, Kyle and Sterm at 40 minutes. I ran with them for about 50 minutes until they were done and then continued on my own again. I tried to incorporate a good amount of hills in to this run, I have been running on flat surfaces too often. Quads felt significantly better than yesterday, they never really got fatigued at all. It has been over 3 months since I've gotten a long run of this distance in, but this was a good sign (and just the beginning....). I did 5 strides within the run to get my legs moving. Protein shake after.

Tuesday (12/8): AM - 8.3 miles in 53:00 (6:23/mi) PM - 10 miles in 1:08.30 (6:51/mi)
9:30am - Just ran on my own this morning. I ended up running a little quicker than I have been. Good thing anyways since I want to increase my maintenance pace in general (in order to actually distinguish my recovery days from maintenance days). Legs feeling pretty good, and weather was awesome...made for a good run. Did 3 strides towards the end in the run.
2:30pm - Ran with Jerry, Kyle and Stermer to Limehollow. I was planning on 55-60 min but the guys were going a little longer and didn't want to turn around as soon - and I didn't want to turn around early and run alone. I was really enjoying the weather anyways so I kept going. Before heading home we stopped in Lusk and I did some hurdle drills. My previous 7 days have been 110.5 miles, a bit higher than I would like as it was a bit too fast of a progression.
Note: need more sleep (got 6 hrs last night due to working on a research proposal and 8pg paper...at least this will be over soon!)

Wednesday (12/9): AM - 6 miles in 43:00 (7:10/mi) PM - 9 miles in 1:01.00 (6:47/mi)
8:30am - Was planning on doing a workout this morning, but woke up to 5 inches of snow on the ground, freezing rain and wind of 25mph gusting to 40-45mph. I chose to push it back to tomorrow in hopes of the roads being a little better (if not I guess I'll be on the treadmill). I forgot how much it can suck running in the snow. I like how peaceful it can be during winter mornings, but I dislike the whole snow aspect take away my ability to do a decent workout. Although, of course, it is what you make of it. Towards the end of the run I did 8x10s hills sprints at Parti hill, then finished up the run home. Followed up the run with a session of core work and AI stretching.
3:15pm - Ran with Jerry and Josh to Limehollow. The first 40 minutes were a bit rough as my stomach was pretty full from a late lunch. Despite the slipper trails the run was real nice since it was almost 40* out. This run went by pretty fast.

Thursday (12/10): PRIMARY - 12.9 miles in 1:15.00 (5:49/mi)
2:30pm - Before the run I did form drills and some AI stretching. Started off with a 15 min warm up and a few strides, then started the workout. The plan was for a 50 minute progressive tempo starting a little slower than marathon effort, then getting down around half marathon goal pace. It started off well, although probably a little quicker than I had wanted, since it didn't allow for too much progression throughout the run. I had a flat 2 mile loop where I ran 5:27, 5:24. I then went to another loop which was around 3.5 miles and averaged 5:18/mi - which was pretty good considering there were a couple hills in there. I finished off running around the 2 mile loop a bit more with splits of 5:11, 5:21 and 5:06 (last half mile 2:27). It was a bit windy (~20mph at times) which made the stretches a little tough and caused some uneven splitting, but effort was the goal so that wasn't a big deal. I had to cut the workout short by 5 minutes due to a real upset stomach the last 5-10 min which I tried running through. Overall I'm pleased with the workout, it's a good start for the longer threshold workouts coming up. I hope to extending this workout to about 15 miles (25k), if I could start off a little slower than marathon effort then finish off with a couple miles at half GP (avg ~5:20/mi), then I would be pretty happy, I figure that's an ideal place to be coming in to the half. Finished off the run with a 14:30 minute cooldown which included 3x30s strides to get the legs turning over when fatigued. Thorough stretching after the run and protein shake.

Workout summary:
8.6 miles in 45:30 min (5:17/mi average)

Played basketball, soccer, and foursquare for a good 2.5 hrs at night. It's amazing how helpful a non-sedentary lifestyle can be in aiding recovery of tendons and muscles.

Friday (12/11): AM - 6 miles in 43:30 (7:15/mi) PM - 10.9 miles in 1:17.00 (7:04/mi)
10:30 am - My first true recovery run in awhile. I really needed it though as I got a bit beat up from yesterday. It felt good to run as slow as I wanted, but I really didn't go as slow as it felt. I checked the weather as I walked out the door and it said that it "felt like 2*". So I figured I was going to be pretty darn cold the whole time. Gladly this didn't happen, my face was the only part of me that was actually cold. This winter weather really isn't that bad to run in as long as you dress properly, I just don't like the slick roads...Both hips sore and tight, as is left calf - but those are all spoils of a long workout. Thorough stretching after.
4:00pm - Not a recovery run as planned, but it was great. Ran with Jerry, Kyle and Stermer up to Tower Rd. (highest point in Cortland). There are 3 pretty major climbs which are relatively long and pretty steep, all totaling up to a 1000ft climb (which isn't as bad as the last loop we did which was 3000ft). At the top it was an average of 7:40/mi. Once at the top we had a 2 mile stretch of just downhill which really took a toll on the quads. Last 4 miles were on flat ground and we were running a decent pace (~6:30-6:20) which felt pretty nice. Yet again only 2* out with 20-30mph winds, but it wasn't all that bad. Great run, thorough AI stretching after. Probably not doing the hill workout I planned tomorrow, it was just an easy secondary and I can allow myself to be flexible at this point.

Saturday (12/12): AM - 7 miles in 48:30 (6:44/mi) PM - 8.9 miles in 1:00.00 (6:44/mi)
9:30am - Ran downtown to Kinney then home. I really wasn't all that sore from yesterday which was a nice surprise. I started off easy and slowly progressed, was about 6:10/mi on the service road. It was really nice out, so it made the run much more enjoyable.

4:00am - Ran with Jerry to Kellogg, then to PER to do some form drills in the dance studio. I started off pretty sore before this run, but the whole running thing really helped to loosen up my legs. Great day to run...

Week Summary:

Another solid week leading in to the block. I'll follow this one up with one of similar volume next week and then a down week after that. It would have been nice if I got a secondary in, but not a big deal at the moment. The primary was a good start, next week I'll probably incorporate a longer one but make it a bit more progressive. This volume was very manageable even if it's the most I've run in an actual week, which is helpful on account that I'm looking at peaking around 115-120 mi.

108.2 miles

11:09 hrs

Primary: 45 min progressive tempo

Secondary: none 
11 runs 

 

Now to wrap this post up with a cliche quote: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity" -Seneca

Start of a new block (November 29th to December 5th).

I started up this blog for a couple of reasons: 1) I figured friends and family would be interested to read it. 2) I enjoy reading other peoples training for ideas and motivation, so I figured I might as well share my own ideas. 3) This will give me a source of accountability where I can make my goals and training public.
After a very dismal cross season I was very anxious to progress in to my training for the Shamrock Half on March 21st. I took a couple days off, and ran whenever I wanted, as far or as short as I wanted. That amounted to a 50 mile "down" week. This post marks the first week of training and the start of a new training block, hopefully towards an qualifying time for the Olympic marathon trials (through a sub 1:05 half marathon).

Sunday (11/29): 15.2 miles in 1:42.00 (6:43/mi)
Did my LR while Rach biked next to me for 70 minutes of it. Felt much better today than I have over the last 3-4 days or so. Legs were getting a little tired around 90 minutes, but it has been over 3 weeks since Ive run this far surprisingly. Left IT a little tight towards the end. Two strides towards the end of the run, felt pretty good.

Monday (11/30): 8.4 miles in 57:00 (6:47/mi)
Ran with Wager, Jerry and KOB down Kellogg and back. Felt pretty decent, except IT started getting sore about 45 min in. I was going to do 10 but called it early due to the IT.

Tuesday (12/1): 10.2 miles in 1:11:00 (6:58/mi)
Ran with Kyle, Jerry, Justin and Koral for a little. Went downtown, IM fields, downtown and then beaudry. Did 6×12s hill sprints after which felt good, its been awhile since Ive done them. Left IT still slightly sore, but the soft surfaces helped minimize it – granted it is feeling better than yesterday…

Wednesday (12/2): AM - 9 miles in 1:02.00 (6:53/mi) PM - 7.2 miles in 50:00 (6:57/mi)
AM: Ran on beaudry, then to the IM fields. Legs feeling normal I guess….getting used to running again. Left IT noticeable but barely.
PM: Ran on the fields a little bit. Met up with Curry and a few of the guys later on in the run. IT progressively getting better. Did 4 ins and outs during the run.

Thursday (12/3): PRIMARY - 14 miles in 1:27.10 (6:14/mi)
10 minutes of core, thorough stretch and form drills about 1 hr before the workout.
Ran to the old track to meet Fred for the workout. Stermer met us because he decided to do the workout as well, and Jimmy joined us for the warm up so that I could show him the two mile loop. I got a 30 minute warm up (changed in to streaks) in and some strides. The workout was 3×2mi with about 4 minutes active rest. The goal was to start around 5:10 for a rep and work down to GP for the half, which is 4:57. It was pretty windy at the start, with the wind at about 20 mph and gusts up to 30mph, but it mellowed a little towards the end with the wind around 15mph and gusts up to 20mph (via weather.com). The loop is pretty great for the wind though since it breaks it up a bit with some straightaways out of the wind, and some in to it. The first rep we started off easy and slowly progressed over the second mile. The second rep was slightly similar, but a little more aggressive, and then the final rep was completely even but we got after it, I still felt controlled though. Fred and I started a little behind Sterm on the 3rd one – he had a darn good workout too since he ran with us for the first two and ran 10:10 or so on the last one. Overall Im pretty pleased with the workout as I wasn’t even planning on doing one this week (and havent done a workout in ~2 wks), but Fred asked if I wanted to so I figured why not? Easy 19 minute cooldown. Quads were already feeling a bit sore, so they will probably be feeling this a good amount tomorrow.

(5:13.4, 5:07.8) = 10:21.2
(5:03.7, 5:00.8) = 10:04.5             Total = 6 miles in 30:10.6 (5:02/mi)

(4:52.1, 4:52.8) = 9:44.9

Friday (12/4): AM - 10 miles in 1:09.00 (6:54/mi) PM - 7 miles in 48:30 (6:56/mi)
AM: Ran half of this with Wager in waterworks, then finished up in beaudry and the HS trails. An easy run, my legs arent feeling as bad as I anticipated. Left IT hardly noticeable, but my right hamstring was popping sometimes which hurt – there always got to be something!
PM: Ran with Sterm mostly on the IM fields. Just nice and easy. Upper quads a little sore and R hamstring popping slightly still. Great run though, legs turning over effortlessly.

Saturday (12/5): SECONDARY (AM) - 9 miles in 1:00.00 (6:40/mi) PM - 7 miles in 49:00 (7:00mi)
AM: Ran to the IM fields and did 45s on 2min off (some glorified strides). Felt pretty good, it was nice doing an early run – got to get in this routine from now on. Right hamstring still sort of popping, but not as noticeable. Not much of a secondary, but still a decent efficiency workout.
PM: Ran with Sterm and Wager. Did a downtown loop to the service rd. to the 2 mi loop. The ground was a bit slippery thanks to the snow. I was annoyed at first because I was thinking about how workouts will suck on slippery roads. After awhile though I really started enjoying it because the temperature was perfect and the lights reflected off the road which made it look real cool. Really enjoyed the run over time, so I decided to go a little longer.
10 minute core and some pushups after the run and form drills before the run.

Week Summary:
I'm quite satisfied with this as my first week back, the volume was a bit more than planned but surprisingly manageable. I got a solid primary in, which was also better than I anticipated. There were a few random aches and pains but I figure the quick increase of mileage was due to that, as long as I'm smart and proactive they shouldn't be a factor.

97 miles
10:55 hrs
Primary: 3x2mi
Secondary: 45s on 2min off
10 runs