M'kay

Due to the popping noises coming from joints, tendons and ligaments in my legs, many from places I'd never heard noises from before, decided to take this as a rest day.  Instead, I climbed on the roof with a 4-gallon sprayed strapped to my back to spray moss-out on the pump house roof.  Then, I proceeded to pull out some trees that had started to grow up against the side of the pump-house, taking frequent breaks because it took all my strength.  Then, I got smart and just spread the moss-out pellets on the roof-line of the house, probably saving myself in the process from falling.  So, yeah, not really much rest today.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:10:27, 7:02/mi, HR 160, w/ 2 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 6 miles @ MP accelerating to HMP with miles in 6:55 (up), 6:55 (up), 7:04 (up), 6:17 (down), 6:19 (down), 6:09 (down), average 6:36.5/mi, 2 mile cooldown.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs, PU/Crunches/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Still a bit creeky today,  but the real problem was that I decided to outsmart myself.  Months ago, I'd determine that I was lactose intolerant to a degree.  Disliking the taste of chocolate soy milk, I've been using normal chocolate milk as a post-run drink without problems.  So I decided that maybe I was mistaken.  Nope.  4 trips to the potty this morning after a bowl of cereal proved that.  Regardless, after a quick trip after the warmup, I managed to get in some good MP/HMP effort miles and wasn't too completely spent by the end.  My hips are definitely tight though.......entering the cooldown miles, I thought my right hip was going to seize.  Left shin still painful to start, but nothing to get too excited about.  Even though the day of rest yesterday wasn't, I think it did the trick.

LM warmup (10 reps), 14 miles in 1:45:11, 7:30/mi, HR 148, PU/Crunches/Leg Abduction ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

Breezy and some intermittent light rain, but warm (55F).  Lots of popping and creaking still, but once I got warmed up things felt pretty good.  Evidently, because the average pace was decent.

LM warmup (10 reps), 10 miles in 1:14:16, 7:25/mi, HR 146, 15 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

Bing!  That's the sound of my fitness suddenly jumping up a notch or two.  Seems like the past few days have been really good running days, and looking back, my easy pace has snuck down from the upper to the mid 7s, while my HR average has moved from the low 150s to the upper-mid 140s.  Nice. 

This happens to me occasionally, and it's always tough to figure out why it happened.  Looking back, I see my weekly mileage jumped a few weeks ago, which jives with the tiredness I've had lately (and some irritability unfortunately).  Perhaps taking Sunday as a rest day gave my body the chance it needed to absorb it all, since that seems to be the day the switch got flipped.  Or, all that is coincidental, and it just is what it is...

LM warmup (10 reps), 14.02 miles in 1:42:30, 7:18/mi, HR 154, w/ 3 mile warmup, 4 x 10 minutes @ HM pace (target 6:19/mi, with repeat pace at 6:15/mi, 6:15/mi, 6:18/mi, 6:17/mi) w/ 4 minutes rest, 3 mile cooldown.  PU/SU/LegAbduction ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

A tiring but satisfying workout.  Great weather....partly sunny and ~ 52F.  Schedule called for 4x10 minutes @ HM pace, which is currently around 6:25/mi, but with a GMP of 6:40, decided to see if I could hit an equivalent GHMP of 6:19/mi.  All repeats were out and back segments, so no overall elevation gain or loss, but some rolling that made it challenging to keep a steady effort.  The last repeat was tough...wasn't sure I was going to sneak under 6:19, but the home stretch on that one was downhill a bit, so that helped.  Now to rest since Sat's long run is labeled as a "Long Hard Run".  Ugh.

LM warmup (10 reps), 7 miles in 53:29, 7:38/mi, HR 152, 2 mile walk w/ dogs.

Nice and easy run.  HR was up a bit, probably because sleep was poor last night.  Wish my left shin and foot would completely heal already. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 20 miles in 2:21:20, 7:04/mi, HR 159, w/ 1 mile easy, 18 miles @ MP + 20 sec (goal 7:00/mi, actual 6:58/mi), 1 mile easy.  PU/SU/LegAbduction ladder (7/7/4), & stretching.

Going into this working, I had some concern that 18 miles @ a 7:00/mi pace on my normal course was going to be too much to handle.  Almost talked myself into adjusting it into a 1 mile on @ MP, 1 mile off at 7:20/mi workout, but decided to stick with the plan.  Felt pretty good when I got up this morning though, and the sun was shining, temps @ 50F, so I was feeling okay about it today.  As it turns out, I had 39 seconds on my goal pace by the time I hit the 19 mile mark, most of which I gained in the first half.  It got tough in the second half, but not exhausting and I actually felt pretty decent at the end.  Did have a brief pit-stop at mile 6, but the gastro-distress waited until about 10 minutes after the run was finished.  2 GUs at 9.5 and 15.5 miles with water every 3-4 after 10 miles.  

So now the taper begins.  Actually, the only real taper I plan on doing for this first week is going to be driven by the fact that I'm out of town, which always causes me to pull back a bit.  Hopefully, I can keep the mileage up in the 70s, but we shall see.  Now on to enjoy the rest of this late-spring-like day. 

2 mile walk w/ dogs.  Another note to self.  Last 2 runs, I've tried to improve my uphill and downhill running form.  Quicker stride, more upright, eliminate forward lean at the waist.  I could definitely tell today it helped quite a bit.  Legs much less "pounded" than they normally are after 20 miles on this course, and the effort going both uphill and downhill was much less than I'd anticipated.  Just goes to show you how important it is.  I caught myself trying to lean forward at the waist going uphill, especially when I got tired, but it really helps if you stay upright and lean at the ankles.  Tough to know when you're leaning at the ankles though.