Running really satisfies!

And it lets you eat Snickers (if you want).  Ha ha. Okay, that was stupid and cheesy.

I had a great running week!  I kinda just threw caution to the wind, and said whatever happens, happens.  I want to run more volume, so I decided I would.  I figure if I'm gonna get hurt, I'm gonna get hurt, so there is no need to hold back.  Do not mistake my attitude for being stupid though.  I plan on using sound training principles and not overdo the various stimuli (volume, intensity, frequency, duration).  I figured the best way to increase my volume was to increase my frequency.

So, here is what I did for the week of 12/12-12/18:

Mon: AM - 4 miles @ 7:57/mile - slow run, wore vibrams, on treadmill w/ 1% incline
PM - 7 miles @ 7:27/mile - easy run, just felt like I was rolling along

Tue: AM - 5 miles @ 7:58/mile - slow run, on treadmill w/ 1% incline
PM - 5 miles @ 6:39/mile - 1/2 mile warmup, 4 mile tempo run @ 6:15/mile, 1/2 mile cooldown, on treadmill w/ 1% incline

Wed: AM - 4 miles @ 7:58/mile - slow recovery run, on treadmill w/ 1% incline
PM - 7.15 miles @ 7:19/mile - easy to moderate effort at end with last mile sub 7 minute pace, didn't force anything just let the run come to me

Thu: AM - 4 miles @ 7:57/mile - slow run, on treadmill w/ 1% incline
PM - 7.1 miles - 2 mile warmup, 10 x 200m @ 37 seconds w/ 300m slow jogs for full recovery, 2 mile cooldown.  This was a workout to get my legs turning over in preparation for the race Saturday morning.

Fri: PM - 4.78 miles - 4.5 miles @ 8:09/mile + 4 x 100m strides, slow run

Sat: AM - 9.34 miles - 1.1 mile warmup with a few strides, 10k race in 37:34, 2.04 mile cooldown
PM - 4.06 miles @ 7:48/mile - slow, recovery run

Sun: AM - 10.32 miles @ 7:35/mile - easy long run for time on feet

Weekly Totals: 12 runs, 71.75 miles

I think this is the most miles I have run in a week since January or February 2010.  My body felt good for the most part.  I feel like I am running at about 90% healthy.  My pelvis still feels a little twisted, which seems to cause a functional leg length discrepancy.  This in turn causes some tightness in my left IT band as well as some tightness/tendinitis in my left achilles & posterior tibialis.  It does not feel like pain that could get worse, which is why I continue to run.  My lower back is tight in the morning when I wake up, but that is due to my bed being too soft.  There will be a new mattress purchased after the new year.  Other than that, it is pretty much a non-factor.  For all of these ailments, I continue to see a doctor every other week and will continue to do so until I feel the problem/issue has been resolved and the symptomatic pain is gone.

The race went about as expected.  It was at City Park, which has some hills, but they aren't bad but you can feel them.  I went through the 1st half in 18:41 & the 2nd half in 18:53.  I placed 2nd.  Peter Vail ran away with the race, but for some reason he is not showing up on the results.  It was nice to race again (only my 2nd race in over 2 years).  The guy who got 3rd place and I were together for about the first 4 miles.  Right about then, I pulled up on his shoulder, listen to his breathing and assessed that his effort level was much greater than mine at that point.  So, I threw off my beanie (it was in the low 40s) and took off.  I ended up beating him by 10 seconds.  I feel like I had no speed or endurance.  I felt pretty close to redline after about the 2nd mile.

It was a great race to determine where I am at; a good starting point for moving forward with my base training.  It helps to know what paces I should be training at now because I think I was over-running my tempo runs.  I have done no VO2 max work and very little lactate threshold work, so I am overall pretty happy with my performance.  I think my time will drop pretty easily once I start getting in some more specific physiologically targeted training.

For the rest of the year I will probably bring the mileage back a little to not overdo it and go into the new year fresh and inroducing some workouts.  Until then, I am going to enjoy how I am feeling and spending time with friends and family over the holidays!