Base Training, Week 11

Monday, November 26th:

5:15 am, 31 degrees, 75%, 0-5mph.  Maple Shade Loop (M).  Brooks Ravenna 3.

6mi easy - (8:18)

Cold, early morning start.  Took awhile to get moving.  Felt loose the whole way, just slow-going in the cold while still groggy.

Tuesday, November 27th:

7:45 pm, 36 degrees, 90%, 5-10mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer-Hialeah.  Brooks Ravenna 3.

8mi easy - (7:57) with 12-15 random 20-30 second pickups

Absolutely terrible conditions.  My lower body was frozen the whole way.  About as cold as you could have light rain without having snow, though the precipitation let up as soon as I got out the door.  Never really got into a rhythm, and seemed to generally slow down as the run progressed.  A workman-like run where you are just glad you got it in and got it over.

Wednesday, November 28th:

7:50 pm, 36 degrees, 60%, 0-5mph.  Maple Shade Loop (S).  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

5mi easy - (7:49)

Not sure where I am finding the energy to run right now.  Work has been unbelievably hectic everyday this week.  Despite getting up early each morning and getting home late each night, it seems that running is my one constant right now that no matter what is going on or how mentally tired I am, I can still lace up the shoes and get my miles in.  Really showing some fortitude this week, of which I am quietly proud.  Let's see how long this lasts.

Thursday, November 29th:

5:00 pm, 45-40 degrees, 50%, 0-5mph.  Hialeah-Kilmer Loop.  Brooks Ravenna 3.

7mi easy - (7:51)

Lots more energy today.  Not as stressful at work today, legs not as heavy, able to actually enjoy the whole run while keeping an easy, relaxed pace.

Friday, November 30th:

8:50 am, 36-40 degrees, 65%, calm.  Croft Farm-Pennypacker-Grove-Tavistock Loop.  Brooks Ravenna 3.

9mi total - (7:15), with 3.5mi warm-up, 4mi@GMP(6:37 27 33 35) on Tavistock Hills, 1.5mi cool down

Definitely became a slave to the Garmin today and ran the MP portion about 10-12 seconds too fast per mile, as the run felt more like half-marathon race pace effort.  Made the mistake of trying to run even splits on a very hilly course, when I should have aimed for either an even "effort" on the same course, or even splits on a pancake flat course.  Learned my lesson the hard way.  Still, this type of workout was a good workout for where I am at in base training right now - just harder than the workout I was trying to accomplish.  Will adjust my approach on the next MP run.

Saturday, December 1st:

5:45 am, 38 degrees, 80%, calm.  King's Hwy and back.  Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.

7m recovery - (8:28)

Felt relaxed and in control the entire way, but even more so on the way back.  Pace was exactly what I needed for today after yesterday's hard session.

Sunday, December 2nd:

7:00 am, 40 degrees, 95%, calm.  Moorestown.  Brooks Ravenna 3.

8m easy - (7:33)

Very foggy morning.  Legs felt a lot fresher than earlier in the week.  I let Rich set the pace, which felt a little quicker than my natural turnover but still very comfortable.  I like mixing up the paces of easy runs between about 1-2 minutes slower than marathon pace, so today was just on the fast end of the easy spectrum.  Nice way to end the week after a rough start.

Weekly Total: 50 miles

A week of resiliency and fortitude.  Didn't feel great on half my runs, but got in solid mileage with some real quality work on Friday - even if it was harder than I intended.  I am now considering running the Gettysburg Marathon in April instead of the Pocono Marathon in May, which would move up the start of marathon training to three weeks from yesterday!  Hard to believe how fast it is all coming back.