Synopsis of Week’s Training:
After not running 12 of the final 14 days of 2007, I started running again in the new year. Heading into this week I’d run 6 straight days and ended with 13 straight.
The week started off with a fun AFS run through some nearby neighborhoods. Tuesday was a standard training; however, I felt like I was almost running again. Heading out on Wednesday I had hopes of running my first “hilly” run of the year, but at the go point a mile into the running I decided to hold off and instead ran a “workout.” This wasn’t some speed session on the track. I ended up averaging 7:53 pace – my HR was near 150 bpm for most of the run. After an easy day on Thursday, I finally went for that hilly run on Friday. By Saturday, my 12th straight day of running I was finally feeling somewhat comfortable, even if I still felt slow. On Sunday I headed out into the cold just before dark to enjoy some intermittent rain. I ended up with my longest run four weeks – 8 miles! The only day I felt bad last week was on Thursday. Somewhere around 3 miles into the run I wanted to stop and walk. Instead, I fought through it and felt mostly better within half a mile.
As always, I enjoy the mileposts along the road to improvement when restarting after downtime in my training. Sure I’d prefer never to have prolonged or unscheduled downtime and much of the early process of getting back into running is a drag, but early on the improvements come fast and furious. You can see the improvement within the span of days. So far I can look at each 3 or 4 day period this year and sense improvement. Surely, I’m not realizing cardiovascular gains so quickly, so what is it? Likely fat loss and muscle gain. When weighing in before my training restart I tipped the scales at 160.6 lbs. That’s about normal when I’m training a moderate amount, but with a lack of training my body composition was certainly off. On Sunday I weighed in again and came in at 157.6. I should note that I was less well hydrated the second go round, so my weight was only slightly reduced if at all. That said, my legs are feeling stronger and more comfortable running. I can also feel and see that I’m leaning up, even if ever so slightly. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to actively lose weight – I’m eating plenty. Any unnecessary pounds will melt off if I can healthfully arrive at 70+ miles per week during the spring.
By The Numbers:
Monday – 5.
Tuesday – 5.
Wednesday – 5.
Thursday – 5.
Friday – 5.
Saturday – 5.
Sunday – 8.
Weekly Mileage: 38
Year-to-Date Mileage: 72
Three Week Moving Average: 24
Year-to-Date Weekly Average: 38
Upcoming Training Goals:
Run every day again this week. Try and hit 6-8 miles one weekday evening. Shoot for a 10+ mile run over the long weekend. Focus on slow and steady improvement – don’t overdo things even if I feel good on a given day. Try and get more sleep… says the man drafting a blog post after midnight.
