The Week of May 19-25, 2008
May 29, 2008 by Bryon Powell · 6 Comments
Synopsis of Week’s Training:
Oh, what a sweet week of consistent training and restoration of my joie de vivre. I didn’t get in the mega-mileage I had planned if I headed out to the mountains (which I did), but I am one week closer to regaining my fitness. Read on for more details regarding my training last week.
Monday I slept in and never made it out to run after watching my first Phillies game at Nationals Park. That gave me 4 out of 8 days off following my 38 days streak. Sounds like a good recovery period to me. Tuesday I ran to Woodley Park and WUSed with Keith and Sean – they could pound me despite both having just rocked the Massanutten 100.
WUSsies running in Rock Creek Park
Wednesday morning I awoke to another run with Wardian et al. This week was a bit slower pace. On Thursday, I continued my streak of track workouts. Again I ran 4 consecutive miles, this time in 6:09, 6:06, 6:02, 5:49. I largely felt in control and enjoyed the faster miles. On Friday I took Wardian down to Potomac Overlook Park to show him around the trails.
What can’t a good sunset fix?
The long weekend allowed me the chance to finally take full advantage of my uncle’s cabin in the Shenandoahs. My plans for a 20+ mile exploratory run on the AT or Dickey Ridge Trail went kaput when my recon mission brought me down to Rt 55. Never run on Rt 55. In case you were wondering, there is no shoulder and LOTS of traffic on Memorial Day weekend! Despite cutting my run to 8 miles, I got in a good workout on the 900′ road climb in the final 2 miles. Sunday, I kept things simple with leisurely 2 hour, 10 mile run via an out and back on the Dickey Ridge Trail. I think the gradual incline of Dickey Ridge will great hill training for the TransRockies Run.
Elevation profile of northernmost 5 miles
of the Dickey Ridge Trail, Shenandaoh NP
By The Numbers:
Monday – 0. Go Phils!
Tuesday – 10. Moderate night trail run.
Wednesday – 10.5. Moderate run.
Thursday – 8. 4 miles of fast stuff.
Friday – 9. Easy/moderate trails.
Saturday – 8. Mountains.
Sunday – 10.5. Mountain trail run.
Weekly Mileage: 56.5
Year-to-Date Mileage: 952.5
Three Week Moving Average: 58.7
Year-to-Date Weekly Average: 44.9
Upcoming Training Goals:
More of the same. Edge up into the 60s or even 70 miles per week over the coming weeks. Keep at the weekly speed session – try to keep HR lower and lengthen workout rather than running any faster. Try to build up long runs.
Related articles:
- The Week of May 5-11, 2008 After a long break, I hope to start posting weekly training updates for the foreseeable future. I had stopped when my training took a serious downturn in early March and...
- The Week of January 28-February 3, 2008 Synopsis of Week’s Training: Now THAT’s what I’m talking about! Six days of running this week with a 10 mile weekday run, a 16+ mile run on the weekend and...
- The Week of May 12-18, 2008 Synopsis of Week’s Training:This week’s running did not turn out exactly as planned, but the deviations were probably for the better and it was a great week nonetheless. Read on...
Filed under Bryon ·
Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
All posts by Bryon Powell
Sounds like you combined a solid week of training with some nice vacation time. Well done. I’m off to Canada for a bit of R & R myself….all fishing and little to no running for 6 days ! Catch you later.
Shhh. Quiet about the cabin. There are wolves in goat’s clothing about.
Congrats on a solid week. You are sure to do great pacing at WS.
So, are you giving Wardian tips on how to run efficiently on downhill trails, etc.? I told him he should get some instruction in trail technique if he wants to survive Western States!
great training! that’s awesome.
Thanks, all. Training continues to go well, even if it is to the detriment of my blogging.
Crowther,
Wardian and I talk Western States and trail running every time we run together. While he needs to hold back early to have his best race, I hope he doesn’t do that by braking on the downhills. I’ll always remember having to walk down to No Hands Bridge at my first WS… even though I was able to run up Robie Point later down the course!