Every Run is a Great Run!

Sure do enjoy running in the sun. Felt good today, did a mostly easy run with 8 x 40s strides sprinkled in throughout the run. Probably in the 5:30-6:30 pace range.

AP/HR: 7:52/154

Hudson tidbit: "When it's done right, the long-term training process is like an asymptote. The line that the training process moves toward but never reaches is 'perfect training'.....while it's impossible to train perfectly, it is possible to train better and better."

Team party at work today during my usual run time so I went in the early morning. Pretty dark morning I could hardly see the road much of the time. I certainly prefer running later in the day this time of year. Hopefully I've earned my filet mignon at Ruby River for lunch.

AP/HR: 8:28/156

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAMRON LEE!!! I can't believe I have a 22 yr. old kid.

Hudson TOTD: "...there are only three components of running fitness: aerobic fitness, neuromuscular fitness, and specific endurance. And there are only three types of training: aerobic-support training, muscle training, and specific-endurance training."

XT warmup 10 minutes (S/E) then outside for seven peaks hill run. Felt good today, I'm sure the sunshine helped, these sunny Feb days have been great. Toward the end I did 8 x 8-10s hill sprints.

AP/HR: 8:04/156

Coach Hudson WoW: "Training for a peak race is kind of like undertaking a long sailing trip. The shortest distance to your destination is a straight line, but the fastest way to get there will involve many zigzags........if you insist on executing every workout exactly as you planned it many weeks ago, you probably won't achieve your goal."

Did similar workout as last week, I guess what you'd call a moderate progression run. Comparing to last week I ran it in almost identical time but for some reason my HR was higher today. Maybe because it was colder or perhaps because I didn't get quite as good as sleep as usual? I didn't really notice feeling much different than last week except maybe the last mile felt harder than it should have.

Mile average pace /HR: 8:17/137, 8:05/145, 8:05/151, 7:53/155, 7:51/164(hill), 7:32/166,  7:27/171, 7:24/176, 7:19/179, 7:01/185.

Overall: 7:41/162

LAST WEEK:

Mile average pace/HR: 8:18/134, 8:09/143, 8:18/144(?), 7:38/156, 7:48/161(hill), 7:27/160, 7:27/163, 7:27/166, 7:14/172, 7:03/179.

Overall: 7:41/157.

Coach Hudson tidbit: "You must not train exactly the same way in consecutive training cycles......Put another way, you need to take advantage of the success you had in your last training cycle by creating a new training plan that demands even more from your body."

Did some XT warmup (S/B/E) then outside for easy 5 miles. I felt surprisingly good today. I usually feel like a slug on Fridays plus I had a fairly unhealthy, greasy breakfast this morning so I expected to fill like crud. Always nice to be pleasantly surprised.

Maybe it was the new shoes I tried out for the first time today. I was worried because they are heavier and stiffer than what I usually use (and very expensive!) so I thought they might feel like boots but they felt quite good actually. So maybe the young punk runner who analyzed my gait and told me I needed these shoes actually knew what he was talking about.

AP: 8:01

Hudson WoW: "The running volume that is most appropriate for you depends on your next peak-race goal, your capacity to absorb and recover from frequent runs and longer runs, and your training history. As a general rule, I recommend runners consistently maintain a moderatly high volume relative to these individual considerations."

Did a run similar to last week but a bit quicker. For some reason Chad was pushing the pace early on (in the MP range), and I probably should have done these miles slower as I ended up being more out of gas than I like to be on the last mile. Seems to work better to start real easy and then mildly progress toward MP at the end of the long run.

AP/HR: 8:18/162

Looking forward to a recovery week next week (20-30% reduction in miles) with a nice little 5 mile race/time-trial on Saturday (Dam 2 Dam).

Coach H TOTD: "Based on the proven effectiveness of both approaches, I like to split the difference between the extremes of volume emphasis and intensity emphasis.......Most runners will get the best results by finding a balance between quality (intensity) and quantity (volume)."