Summer 2014 Base Training, Week 3

Monday, May 19th:

Rest.

Tuesday, May 20th:

5:10am, 54 degrees, 64%, calm.  2x Neighborhood Loop.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

4mi easy

Felt like I was holding back the entire way.  Strong from the first step.  Just goes to show what a rest day will do for you.

7:35pm, Treadmill, 1.0% incline.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

4mi easy (31:42) (7:56/mi).  Strides.

Easy progression from 7.2-7.8mph with 4x strides (9.0-10.0mph) the last 1/2 mile.  Little warm, but legs felt fine.

Wednesday, May 21st:

4:40am, 60 degrees, 83%, 0-5mph.  Old Cuthbert Road and back.  Saucony Cortana 3.

10mi, including 4x 1MOD/1E  (7:14 8:04, 6:51 7:56, 6:46 8:00, 6:38 8:20)

Didn't feel that great on this one.  I am not sure if it was the quick turnaround from last night, the early hours this morning, the feeling of dehydration/humidity, or a combination of the above.  The good news is I was able to run comfortably faster for each of the moderate segments at the same effort.

Thursday, May 22nd:

6:45pm, 70 degrees, 80%, 0-5mph.  Treadmill, 2x Neighborhood Loop.  Mizuno Wave Rider 17.

6mi easy

There was some threatening weather at the start, so I began with 2mi easy on the treadmill.  Skies cleared up, so I headed out for 2 easy loops around the neighborhood.  I still feel some general fatigue like I did yesterday morning, which I am attributing to some longer work hours this week and a bump in temperature/humidity.  I am sure some down time from work this long weekend and some extra sleep will do the trick.

Friday, May 23rd:

5:40am,  60 degrees, 87%, 5-10mph.  Maple Shade Loop (S).  New Balance 1260v2.

5mi easy

Penny girl had a rough night of sleep, which means I got about 4.5 hours sleep total.  Strangely enough, I felt much, much better than I did the last two days, feeling stronger than normal with a more powerful stride.  I say sleep is over-rated anyway. :)

1:45pm, 72, 48%, 5-10mph.  2x Neighborhood Loop.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

4mi easy.  Strides.

Beautiful, bright sunny afternoon.  Relaxed and smooth the entire way.  Able to open up nicely on the strides.

Saturday, May 24th:

5:45am, 58 degrees, 80%, 5-10mph.  Moorestown.  New Balance 1260v2.

14mi (1:46:03), with 10x :30 "on" (5:00-:30/mi), 2:30 "off" (8:00/mi)

Felt super, super strong on this one.  Practiced taking a gel prior to the run and again at 7mi.  Also got some Gatorade in me before the start, at 7mi, and again at 9.25mi just before starting the fartlek.  The pickups were very easy and controlled.  I felt myself getting faster and stronger on each one, and the recoveries felt like I was walking.  I had Colleen, Jamie, and Steve keep me company most of the last 7mi, so I would slow down after each pickup and let them catch up.  Very happy with this run.  I think I will run most of  long runs in this manner between now and the start of the marathon cycle for both the strength and speed benefits, and to reduce the risk of burnout/injury.  Fun way to break-up a 14mi run.

Sunday, May 25th:

7:30am, 56 degrees, 80%, 0-5mph.  Wildwood.  Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.

9mi easy progression (1:13:25) (8:10/mi): 9:38 8:38 26 43 04 7:47 35 28 07

Kind of made this run up on the fly.  I was originally planning a 5mi/4mi easy double today, but I ran the first 4mi very slow with Jimmy and felt really good, so I "relaxed into" the pace of the run and just kept it going.  As usual, I didn't check my watch until after I was finished, so it was nice to see how much the pace dropped with such minimal, relaxed effort.  Great way to cap the week.

Weekly Total: 56 miles

Felt so-so the first half of the week - in part due to the increase in weather and humidity.  But from Friday on, things just really clicked and I really had my legs under me for every run.  The long run fartlek felt amazing, the easy progression run felt amazing - my legs just suddenly feel super strong right now.  I think I will plan on mostly sticking to this type of easy quality (relaxed 200 intervals, long fartleks - mile on, mile off, short fartleks - :30 on, 2:30 off, and progression runs) for the rest of the base phase.  I really seem to be responding to it nicely and it should leave me plenty prepared to start the marathon cycle at the end of July.