Monday, October 6th:
Rest.
Tuesday, October 7th:
6:45pm, 65 degrees, 75%, 5-10mph. Neighborhood-Maple Ave out-and-back. Asics Kayano 19.
7.5mi (59:12) (7:54/mi). Strides.
Didn't quite feel 100% - had an absolutely lousy day at work after already waking up with a headache. But once I got a few miles in, things started to click the way they should and I finished the last mile feeling good. Strides after were smooth also.
Wednesday, October 8th:
8:50pm, 67 degrees, 53%, 5-10mph. 5x + Neighborhood Loop. Adidas Adios Boost.
12mi (1:25:42): including 4x 1.5mi (6:10/mi avg) w/.5mi recovery jogs (4:06/avg)
Splits: 9:17 14 17 15
Like last week, had a pretty good rhythm for the entire strength interval workout done late at night. Didn't really find myself working too hard until the last one, but even then I was plenty under control. I am happy with how naturally I can find and maintain the proper pace of these sessions.
Thursday, October 9th:
8:20pm, 61 degrees, 56%, 0-5mph. Maple Ave out-and-back. Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.
7mi (57:06) (8:09/mi)
Didn't have much energy at all at the start of the run. Was able to work into a decent rhythm after a couple miles and from there I held a steady pace. Finished much better than I started. I think my body is adapting to the cumulative fatigue pretty well at this point, as no matter how tired I feel or how slow I start, I am always able to work my way into a run.
Friday, October 10th:
9:00am, 56 degrees, 53%, 0-5mph. 2x Tavistock Loop. Asics Kayano 19.
10mi hilly (1:19:28) (7:57/mi)
Kept an even effort the whole run, not forcing the pace on the hills. Was a little hungry and depleted at the start of the run since I had to fast overnight and this morning in order to give routine bloodwork. The double black bean burger sure tasted good when I got home!
Saturday, October 11th:
"The Great Shorts Fiasco"
5:30am, 53 degrees, 93%, 5-10mph. Rain. Like, for real rain. Moorestown. Adidas Glide 6 Boost.
15.5mi total (1:50:31), including 5.5mi E, 9mi MP tempo 6:24/avg, 1mi E.
Splits: 6:31 24 26 25 26 22 19 28 17
For anybody that actually reads this blog, you know I am a creature of habit. I try to eat the same breakfast on long run days as I do race day, I drink out of the same "good luck" coffee mug, I wear the same "good luck" race shorts, I practice taking gels/Gatorade/etc. I try to prepare for all situations. Well today it was pouring rain, which itself wasn't all bad, although it was a cold, drenching rain not a warm, peaceful rain (if that makes sense).
The problem was with my "good luck" shorts. I like this particular pair of shorts because it has pockets in the back where I can stash my gels. But I have had the shorts for so long that the drawstring finally broke the other day. I didn't think much of it at that time because they still fit well and I rarely use the drawstring - in fact I wore them for Wednesday night's interval workout just fine.
But today it was pouring rain. Which made my shorts wet. And heavy. And therefore not only NOT good for storing the weight of gels, but NOT good for simply wearing without a drawstring, because gravity kept wanting to pull them down every 10 seconds or so. I made it through the warmup okay because the rain up to that point was fairly light. But wouldn't you know as soon as I start running fast, the rain comes down faster, the shorts get heavier and man what a fiasco! I am trying to focus on running a consistent honest pace, but I am more focused on keeping more shorts up than I am on running fast. Compounding the issue is that I step in 2 or 3 large puddles of water in the dark so I am completely soaked head to foot.
Five miles into the tempo, I can feel both of my legs starting to cramp - not so much from the effort of the pace, but from the compound action of bending down to pull up my shorts while simultaneously pumping my legs forward while running. Every time I try to relax my muscles to head off the cramping, my shorts just fall that much faster.
Six miles into the tempo, I have had enough of this nonsense and say to hell with it and promptly give myself the biggest wedgie I can muster. Instantly, I feel the cramping subside as my muscles relax, and now instead of having to pull my shorts up every 10 seconds or say they stay up for about 2-3 minutes periods of time before I have to self-wedge again. But after a mile of that, I experience godawful chafing on my inner thighs from wet, wedgied shorts rubbing against my legs. So the 8th mile of the tempo was slower not because I was slowing down from running, but because I was trying to give myself a wedgie but relieve the pressure of my shorts off my inner thighs at the same time and it just wasn't happening. With a mile to go, I really said to hell with it and just put my foot on the pedal so I could promptly finish and be done with everything. With a half mile to go, I passed a couple of young women out for their morning walk who must have been looking on in horror at my circumstance - soaked runner from head to foot, huffing and puffing, with an unnatural wedgie trying to adjust his shorts. Who knows what they actually saw or did not see. I could care less anyway.
I finally finish the tempo, jog an easy mile, and then get back to my car so I can get out of my wet clothes. To put icing on the cake, wouldn't you know I got a nice set of raw nipples to match my thighs - I just wasn't aware of them up to that point because I was so focused on my shorts.
Looking back at this now it's all rather funny to think about. But it wasn't at the time. I guess it's better for these kinds of things to happen in Week 12 on a training run than on race day. Looks like I will be investing in some new "good luck" shorts WITH a working drawstring.
Sunday, October 12th:
4:50am, 45 degrees, 80%, 0-5mph. Valley Run-Kilmer-Valley Run-Neighborhood. Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.
10mi (1:25:02) (8:30/mi)
Very easy recovery progression run. Last 3mi were 8:21 07 7:27. Was tired and hungry halfway through, started winding it up from about 4mi out feeling stronger and stronger to the finish. Great way to cap the week.
Weekly Total: 62 miles
Two thirds of the way through the cycle and I am still in one piece. This next week is my second biggest planned week of the cycle, with the biggest week coming two weeks later. It's critical that I get as much sleep, eat right, and pace all of my runs (workouts/easy/recovery) just right so I come out of it still feeling good. Having a new pair of shorts with a drawstring should help, too, haha.
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