Philadelphia Distance Run Training, Week 7

Monday, August 5th:

5:25am, 63 degrees, 70%, 0-5mph.  Maple Shade Loop (M).  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

6mi recovery - (8:27): 1mi warmup, 4mi@8:12-:18, 1mi cool down

My body was kind of achy and tight from a lot of running around yesterday (let's just say a trip to Ikea led to a long day of putting together furniture!).  I implemented Larry's practice of starting off with a very easy first mile and finishing with a very easy last mile.  Gotta say it felt great!  Was also another beautiful weather morning.

Tuesday, August 6th:

4:55am, 61 degrees, 82%, calm.  Hialeah-Kilmer Loop.  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

7mi easy - (7:53): 8:26, 7:37-:44, 8:24

Felt much stronger and smoother today.  I am really starting to like the 1mi warmup and cooldown on easy runs.

Wednesday, August 7th:

4:40am, 68 degrees, 86%, calm.  3.5x CHW Loop.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

11mi total - 2mi warmup (8:25), 7miMP (6:28 29 29 28 29 28 26), 2mi cooldown (8:12)

Solid MP run.  At times I would find myself running faster than planned (6:15-:20ish) and would have to slow down to hit the prescribed pace (~6:30/mi).  I actually felt smoother when running faster and somewhat congested when holding myself back.  Overall I didn't really tie up until the last mile, when my legs started getting heavy.  I was happy that my breathing stayed consistent and I never felt like I was in deficit during the workout.

Thursday, August 8th:

4:45am, 71 degrees, 94%, 0-5mph.  Maple Shade Loop (M).  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

6mi easy - (8:01): 1mi 8:35, 4mi@7:39-8:00, 1mi 8:24

Despite the humidity, I felt surprisingly strong after yesterday.  Really hit a rhythm miles 3-5.

Friday, August 9th:

7:00am, 75 degrees, 96%, 0-5mph.  Denning's House.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

10mi easy - (7:43): light jog, 4x strides, 3mi easy solo, 7mi easy w/Denning

Felt simply spectacular today.  Best I have felt strength-wise in a long time.  Finished with that feeling of "holding back" - which is good, since I have a nice HM workout planned for tomorrow.

Saturday, August 10th:

5:30am, 74 degrees, 87%, 0-5mph.  Boundary Creek Trail.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

12mi total - 2mi warmup (8:21), 4x strides, 10x1k HMP w/200m+ jogs, 2mi cooldown (8:07), 2x fast accelerations
Goal Splits: 3:44-:47
Actual Splits: 3:42 46 43 43 45 44 42 42 41 35
Goal Recoveries: 1:15
Actual Recoveries: 1:18 16 10 15 14 11 14 11 15 15

Absolutely murdered this workout.  Didn't really labor at all until about the 7th or 8th rep and even then I was still very controlled.  For the last rep, I focused on staying relaxed, keeping my breathing as easy as possible, while moving forward with speed, not effort.  A great simulation of increasing the tempo on tired legs.  I also did two very fast accelerations (30m jog to stride, 30m sprint, 30m stride to jog) to activate fast twitch muscles at the end.

It was such a treat to get to do this workout on the nature trail.  I had the park to myself, the path was soft on my legs, no wind or sun to speak of, and I even got to see a deer on my 3rd interval.  Such positive energy today.

Sunday, August 11th:

7:30am, 68 degrees, 68%, 5-10mph.  Denning's House.  Adidas Supernova Glide 5.

8mi recovery - (8:20)

Felt really good today.  It was nice to have Denning's company for the last 5mi.  Running slow with a partner made it feel even easier.  And the weather was just perfect.  Great way to cap the week.

Weekly Total: 60 miles

First week of HM specific training went really well.  Nailed both workouts and felt fresh for each run.  I have felt massive gains in fitness over the past two weeks.  That forced down time was such a huge blessing in disguise.