Philadelphia Distance Run Training, Week 6

Monday, July 29th:

8:10pm, 77 degrees, 50%, 0-10mph.  Garden State Park zig-zags.  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

6mi easy - (7:57)

I am finding it harder and harder to wake up before work on Monday mornings.  I may have to switch to a 6 day/week schedule if I continue to feel run-down to start each week.  I may also just take a down week this week and skip one or two workouts until I feel refreshed again.  About 4 miles in tonight, I also noticed some tenderness on the inside portion of my right Achilles.  Not painful, didn't get worse as the run progressed, but just another reason to be cautious this week.  No need to put myself out of commission for a good stretch of time with the race still 6 weeks away.

Tuesday, July 30th:

Day Off.  I can still sense that something is "off" with my right Achilles.  I am optimistic that I caught it early on, and I hopeful that a few days off running will do the trick.  I don't plan on running on it again until it feels 100%.  There is still lots of time in this training cycle, and I would rather get to the starting line healthy enough to run as well as I can injury-free, than hobbling on the starting line because I didn't back off in my overzealous pursuit of a time goal.

Wednesday, July 31st:

Off.  Ankle feeling slightly better, but I am still aware of it.  Scheduled appointment with massage therapist for tomorrow afternoon to see if she can work her magic.  Still optimistic I will be running easy again by this weekend, but I am not pushing it.

Thursday, August 1st:

7:15pm, 72 degrees, 90%, 0-5mph.  Neighborhood.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

4mi easy - (7:50)

Had a massage earlier in the afternoon which really loosened the "congestion" going on with my ankle.  Left Holli's office feeling as good as new with full range of motion again.  She truly is miraculous sometimes.  Wanted to be cautious so I just went for an easy "test" jog around the neighborhood and called it quits when things felt great after 4 miles.  It feels good to be back!

Friday, August 2nd:

5:15am, 68 degrees, 96%, calm.  Cherry Hill West Track.  Adidas Supernova Glide 5, Adidas Adizero Tempo 4.

9mi total - 2mi warmup (8:25), 4x100m pace strides (20-21), 3x1600m (5:29 28 27) w/600m recovery jogs (3:12-:19), 4x100m pace strides (18-20), 2mi cooldown (8:22)

One way or another, today will mark the turning point of this cycle.  This is either the day that propels me to a big PR in September, or the day I wondered why I attempted this workout the day after returning from a short injury layoff.  SHORT ANSWER, I SIMPLY FELT SPECTACULAR.  Even during the slow warmup, I could just feel the running I had in my legs today.  The pre-workout strides were very smooth and controlled.  I had to hold myself back on the first interval, hit the second one feeling just right, and worked hard (but not all out) on the last one.  I don't think I could have done another rep at the same pace, but I could have come awfully close if I "raced" it.  The post-workout strides felt even better than the pre-workout strides, like I was just galloping down the track effortlessly.  Simply felt incredible today.  I just hope I don't wake up tomorrow not being able to walk. :)

Saturday, August 3rd:

6:10am, 70 degrees, 83%, calm.  Moorestown.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

9mi recovery - (8:35): 1mi warmup, 7mi@8:20-:30, 1mi cooldown

Felt so, so good to run this pace today with the group (Tom Stilley, Erin, Tara, John Magee, etc.).  The positive energy is also contagious.  I think I may start incorporating a warmup and cooldown mile to all of my easy runs now - I always finish with a "fresh" feeling whenever I implement them.

Sunday, August 4th:

6:30am, 65 degrees, 82%, 0-5mph.  Moorestown.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

13mi total - .5mi warmup/strides, 12mi@7:03/mi, .5mi cooldown

I wish I could capture days like today and keep them in a bottle.  The weather was gorgeous: crystal blue sky without a breath of wind.  There was a small group of us guys (Ron, Denning, Mickey) to keep each other company, keeping mostly "guy" conversations.  There was a beauty to the run today: the movement, the rhythm, the magic.  I stopped the run where I was supposed to today, but I felt like I could have run forever.

Weekly Total: 41 miles

Not the week I had planned but definitely the week I needed.  I am so glad I took a couple of days off.  Friday's mile repeat session was a real surprise.  Today's moderate long run was another winner.  I feel like if I can avoid any major aches or niggles I will be ready to roll in 6 weeks.