10 Weeks to IAT50k

Monday - 4 mile, easy DogJog around the 'hood.

Tuesday AM - 1 hour of shoveling. I was going to play basketball for an hour at the high school...and then I realized we had another 3-5 inches on the ground.

Tuesday PM - I had planned on an hour of running, but a later end of the work day got me home behind schedule. Ellie taught yoga tonight, which meant Edwin was taken along with me to a meeting, which meant we both were arriving home together to quickly get him ready for bed. By this point, I could have snuck out with the dog for an hour. Instead, I read the paper (there's a lot going on in Wisco right now, if you hadn't heard) and had a beer and spent some time with Ellie.

Wednesday - 5 miles, easy. Upset stomach and lazy feeling all over. I think that's interesting, considering I'm making an effort to pull back a bit on mileage and hours for the week, and I'm feeling much like I do during a taper.

Thursday - Weekly Long Run, 13.33 miles, easy effort until the last 4 miles. To close the run, I had a 6:53 and 6:33 split, which felt good. Heart rate stayed in check, and no stomach issues. I was home and cooking breakfast for the family by 8 AM too! Not a bad way to start the day.

Friday - Rest.

Saturday - 11 miles, 2 mile warmup, then 1 mile on, 1 mile off, then 2 mile cooldown. Fast miles were 6:37, 6:26, 6:24, 6:11. 6:43 final mile cooldown. Still cold, but it felt good to get some leg turnover! My Avg HR was 160 for the run. I'd like to have the same pace, but a HR in the low 150's by April.

Sunday - Rest. I planned on getting out for some easy miles, but yesterday's run left me gassed. I skipped an afternoon run in favor of a nap, and an evening run in favor of a beer. This was a recovery week, so I'm not letting it bother me too much (and the beer helps with that) and am looking forward to next week. Saturday's run left me looking forward to more tougher efforts as I build towards the StL Marathon and Ice Age.

Ice Age already reached its capacity, too. I'm looking forward to it, and hoping the Brewmaster (www.blogoftraining.blogspot.com -- I can't get the link to work and I blame blogger for it) will share some homebrew with me, despite the fact I'm only running the Junior Varsity event.

11 Weeks to IAT50k

This previous week, the 6th week of base-building for me, has looked as follows:

Monday - Rest.

Tuesday - 6 miles, roads in town, easy pace.

Wednesday AM - 6.13 miles, flat roads in town, easy pace.

Wednesday PM - 3.8 miles, very easy running with Parsenn (dog).

Thursday - 18.81 miles, easy pace, fastest 4 mile splits were the last 4 miles.

Friday - Rest.

Saturday - 10 miles, easy effort until the last mile, where I picked it up a bit, but didn't let my HR exceed 160. Last mile was 6:33. Slowest miles were miles 1 and 2 (7:44, 7:27), and all other miles were between 7:12 and 6:33.

Sunday - 45 minutes, treadmill, 7% grade. We are experiencing another storm of 12 inches of snow at the moment.

Totals: 48 miles, about 7 hours. I really had a good run on Saturday, and felt GREAT to have some turnover in the legs during the last couple miles. I surprised myself with the 6:33 at the end. I'm really glad I got that Saturday run in, too, considering we're buried under 10 inches of snow once more.

This upcoming week should be a step-back week. I guess that's a good thing considering the weather. After 6 weeks of easy running and base building, I'd like to start with some tempo runs and more more speed work.

I also checked my Garmin Connect data, and I was running on the trails for the first time on March 14...it can't come soon enough!

12 Weeks to IAT50k

8.5 Months, and looking forward to getting stroller rides.

Goals for this past week were 8 hours and 50 miles.

I managed 6.5 hours and 43 miles on 5 days. I've continued the MAF approach and have kept every run under 150 AvgHR. We had some brutal weather in the middle of the week, and that was followed by temps in the 30's and 40's the last couple days. Unfortunately, it's only the middle of February, so I'm guessing we've got more sub-zero temps and snow headed back our way.

The more I read about MAF, the more I seem to find that doing it for only a month (as I have) isn't nearly as effective as 3 months. I guess I don't have a big problem with continuing with the MAF approach, as the current conditions don't make it easy to run fast, anyway.

I really can't wait for the snow to melt and get some trail running done in preparations for Ice Age, as well as more opportunities to get Edwin out on some runs. He and Ellie enjoyed a 35 minute walk yesterday--taking advantage of this February thaw while we can!

Goals for this upcoming week? 7 hours, 45 miles.

Is it Spring yet?

I'd just settle for 20 degrees.

13 Weeks to Ice Age

Goals this week were:

1. 8 hours of Aerobic Base Building

2. A long run of 2.5 hours

Well, if you add in the total of 3 hours I've spent shoveling and snowblowing this week, I'm well past 8 hours. We received about a foot (who knows how much...with all the winds it's tough to tell) of snow along with 40-50 mph winds. That weather took care of any thoughts of running on Tuesday night, as well as Wednesday morning, so chalk those 3 hours up to 'cross training.' Still, I was able to run Monday night, Wednesday night, and Thursday morning. Thursday included a FC (F&^%ing Cold) run outside, followed by some work on my Hill Mill (my treadmill that I've raised up on blocks to increase the incline).

Friday was my second day off, and Saturday I worked through 18 road (roadish miles--we've got a ton of crap on my roads) miles at a decent pace and HR. I averaged 7:38 miles overall, but had a ton of energy in the final couple miles. I am thinking, with this effort, that sub-3 could be back on the table.

Sunday I put in a solid hour of MAF work on sloppy trails. This ended my week as follows:

7 hours, 45 miles. I'll take it.

Next week, 8 hours, 50 miles. At that point I'll be happy with my base, and ready to start increasing the leg speed.

Oh yeah...GO PACK GO!!!!

Man, I can't even imagine how much it would suck to be a fan of a terrible team. My condolences.