New Strategy Working

I continue to focus on my 3 work-out runs of the week and not worry about the other four days.  If I need an extra day off or only run 4 easy miles with the dog, well, that's what I do. Don't sweat the weekly miles total, just prepare myself mentally for Tuesday's Track workout, Saturday's 9 mile progression and Sunday's See How Far you Can Run in Two-hours Run.  For a third straight week, I improved my pace and/or distance on all three runs!

 

Tuesday's run started out a little slow, but by the end of the run, I was cruising at a sub 6:25 pace and it felt relatively fluid.  Wednesday off, Thursday an easy 5, Friday an easy 7.  Saturday's run felt great, starting off pretty fast and running the last couple miles at a comfortable sun 3:15 marathon pace!  I was dubious about running more than 14.1 miles on my Sunday run.  There was a still westerly wind, slowing me down for the first few miles, plus a little it of fresh snow cover.  However, at about the 6-mile mark, everything felt good and I was running easily under 8 minute pace.  Handled the two big hills well, then turned for home at a snappy 7:40 pace, back into the wind.  Ending with 14.25 miles for the  day and close to mid-40's for the week.

 

I'll try more of the same this week.  The track will be closed on Tuesday, so may move that workout to Thursday.  The last few years, my daughter and I have started a new Christmas tradition of doing a longer run, will be adding my son to the mix this year, so looking forward to that.

Recovery Time

I mentioned it briefly in last week's post, the idea and benefits of extended recovery as I approach 60 years old.  It only makes sense and would explain why I consistently break down mentally and physically when I try to build mileage over 50 miles per week.  It also appeared evident this week when I did a very aggressive track workout on Tuesday and the following three days I felt slow, heavy and sluggish, rarely breaking the 9 minute mile barrier.  But rather than get down on myself, I accepted this fate and patiently waited for recovery to come to me, instead of forcing the issue.  Recovery did return finally on my Saturday 8 plus mile run.  After a warm-up, I was hitting sub 8 pace relatively early and running around sub 7:30 pace by the end.  Its the same route I run every Saturday and it was a full 90 seconds faster than anything done in the last month.  Sunday is my traditional "see how far you can run in 2-hours" workout, which includes two significant hills, Old Excelsior Road and Sparrow Road.  Even with a successful Saturday work-out, I was able to set a new distance record on this run as well.  So, now its back to recovery mode.  Most likely I will take Monday off and return to the track on Tuesday.  Lesson learned, I will run as little or as much as my old body gives me on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to continue with good results on key workout days.  I am sure that following this program will lead to more mileage eventually, but I will no longer be a slave to increased miles per week, at least as long the results continue be there.  That being said, I am satisfied with my mid 40 totals for this week.  I am no fool, I fully realize that I will never get close to a 3 hour marathon again at this kind of mileage and maybe I never will, but I also realize that it is guaranteed not to happen if I continue to force mileage increases every week, regardless of how my body feels.  Less pressure, better results and a happier outlook!

Winter Running as an Old Guy

Winter running has always provided its challenges.  The cold, the wind, the ice and don't forget the darkness.  At 57, these challenges seem that much worse, especially when trying to mount a comeback.  Sure I can run inside, which I did this week, but that means running after work, which then means running the next morning, always a challenge when its dark and single digit temps.

So I say all this because I fell way short of my mileage goal of 57 miles.  Managed only 43 miles because of two days where I only could muster a 30 minute jog with my hound, Huey.  Not all was lost.  My 1 hour track workout was a success and my Sunday Sparrow Road run was a new record of 14.1 miles.  Maybe extra time off is okay?

Unplanned Break Week

I took my normal day off on Monday and returned to the track on Tuesday night for my weekly progression run.  Wednesday I felt awful and had a long day at work, so I opted out.  Thursday I still felt sore and tired, so I decided I needed another rest day.  Eased back into it on Friday with an easy run in the snow and decided I would get after it on the weekend.  Saturday was 9 miles in Yak Trax, but my left hip was really sore and still felt fatigued.  Snowstorm Saturday night, so that coupled with more fatigue meant 4 off days this week.  What the hell?  I did manage to sign up for a race in January, now I have to muster up some enthusiasm!