I am excited and a little scared. Excited that everything from marathon paced effort to easy miles is faster than it has ever been. My Garmin has increased its estimate of my VO2 Max to 53. But I am a little nervous that I will over reach and screw things up. So I am paying close attention to recovery and this week ran the minimum I thought I needed to keep making progress.
Monday – 4.5 miles heart rate based recovery run (9:33/127 bpm) with Deena doggie. I had not anticipated running the day after training run marathon, but HRV/stress score was in the green zone (high end) and I have more than 70 miles on tap this week, so decided to go for the short run. First steps felt creaky, then run felt good and legs felt much better afterward.
Tuesday – 6.8 recovery paced (10:03/129 bpm) miles on CP dirt bridle path before sunrise with Deena doggie while listening to a biography of Napoleon.
Wednesday – 7.8 miles easy (9:41/146 bpm) in Central Park in pouring rain. Tender spot on my knee after yesterday’s run and a bit upon waking made me not yet ready for a workout. Strength work: 20 reps each leg weighted goblet squats, single leg toe touches, planks.
Thursday – 11.5 miles with 6×1 mile with 90 secs recovery (7:34/166 bpm; 7:29/171 bpm; 7:31/174 bpm; 7:31/174 bpm; 7:36/171 bpm; 7:47/173 for .7). First warm up mile was 8:54/143 bpm. I did this workout while mostly but not fully recovered from Sunday’s marathon and ended up with an effective workout, though one that was rated less effective than ones I have started fresh and executed effort level and stress-recovery cycle perfectly. I was pleased that even with shorter recovery time than last fall, my paces were substantially faster and heart beat lower than when I did this workout during week 11 of my fall 2015 marathon training cycle. Strength work: weighted goblet squats, push-ups.
Friday – 11.3 continuous miles easy (9:28/144 bpm), mostly on CP reservoir while watching the light come up and listening about Napoleon and Josephine. Very happy to have run 7 seconds per mile faster than the same run last week with comparable effort. Strength work: 2 sets weighted goblet squats, 2×95 second side planks, single leg toe touches.
Saturday – 13.7 miles, with 4×2 miles at GMP (7:42/168 bpm; 7:43/170 bpm; 7:42/174 bpm; 7:41/177 bpm) with 90 second rests. I think these were my best GMP efforts ever! My heart rate and the fitness assessment on my watch have suggested that my body is fit enough to run marathon pace miles faster than the 7:50-7:55 paces I have been practicing, but I have lacked the body confidence to push faster. So when this week’s training plan called for marathon pace miles in two mile segments, I decided to run them on the track, where I would be less afraid of blowing up, targeting 7:45 pace. I was delighted that I was able to run even faster than my target and hold pace through the last two miles which felt very hard. I kept the planned work/recovery cycle exactly, and my watch rated the workout, based on my heart’s reaction, “highly effective.” Was sore in a good way after this run, so I took a nap and went to bed early Strength work: 2×30 weighted eccentric heel drops, 3×15 lateral lunges with Kettlebells, 3×15 hamstring exercises with Kettlebells, 4×20 push ups, single leg toe touches, balance on Swiss ball.
Sunday – 14.6 miles easy (9:10/152 bpm) on beautiful, hilly rails-to-trails in Northern Westchester NY while listening to an audio book biography of Napoleon. HRV/stress score cleared me to run but was careful to not push the pace in order to stay healthy after Saturday’s hard workout. With good pacing, I did not walk on the 2.5 mile uphill on this route. This was a rare, balanced run that I have been striving for, and my left leg was not used to running properly balanced, but made it through feeling okay. Strength training: one set reverse lunges with Kettlebells, single leg toe touches.
Weekly total: 70 miles
Posted by Caper. Check out more at Salty Running.