January 03 - January 9 2011

Weekly Totals: 
Distance: 55.58 mi. Time: 8:02:42 Vertical Gain: 4117 ft.

Monday, January 03
Distance: 800 yrds.
Time: 0:30:00ish
Vertical Gain: 0 ft.

Off day. Took things relatively easy, which is great because Sunday's 11 miles (3,535 feet of vertical) on the Appalachian Trail left my legs tired. On an even more positive note, I did increase the yardage in my weekly swim/recovery workout. Due to a chest cold my ability to keep a consistent breathing pattern was a bit hindered, but nothing that I'm concerned with.

Tuesday, January 04
Distance: 8 mi.
Time: 1:04:11
Vertical Gain: 667 ft.

With a great time trial on December 31, 2010, I've adjusted my training paces a good bit. Collins Hill Park is relentless and my legs were still feeling fatigued from Sunday's run. More notably, I had some mental challenges about mid-run. But I held things together and by the end the reward was 8 miles at a much faster than anticipated pace. I have a minute wide training zone for Base mileage days and I don't really pay attention to my watch (Garmin 405). I just run and keep it from beeping, which tells me I'm in the appropriate pace, but to know that I could've slowed down about 20 secs each mile would've been nice. Oh well, I made it and it felt gratifying.

Wednesday, January 5
Distance: 10.19 mi.
Time: 1:20:04
Vertical Gain: 397 ft.

First interval training of the season and it was a great "rust-breaker." 12 X 400m at 6:05 Pace, and .35 Recovery at 8:30 pace. The pace for the 400's was great and the recovery was right at the tipping point of, possibly, too much. I was nervous going into to the repeats because it had been so long since I've done any of this type of training, but I'm looking forward to the change in pace. The last 8 weeks I have had focus on hill work, so the increase in foot speed should pay off later on in the season and when I pick back up the hill repeats.

Thursday, January 6
Distance: 8 mi.
Time: 1:12:00
Vertical Gain: 843 ft.

A recovery run on hilly terrain...possible? Definitely. People describe all of the time a "wall" during races, for 10 years I've been training at Buford Dam and since my hiatus I've had a "Too Difficult" Wall on this course. The terrain is undulating and there's a set of stairs that are too steep for me to wrap my mind around running up them. But I chose the course because, put simply, I'm fuckin' done with excuses. There's no need to turn down a run, and there's no need to turn down a course. The run felt great. My legs were 85% recovered from the intervals yesterday and I'm gaining a new sense of respect for looking at running in terms of years and not just a season.

Friday, January 7
Distance: 8.92 mi.
Time: 1:08:40
Vertical Gain: 247 ft.

Mile repeats, are you serious? This is a classic high school cross-country workout that isn't done specifically enough. Meaning, your repeats don't need to be anywhere close to your mile pace. For tonight's workout my mile repeat pace: 10k pace ~ 6:43 to 6:32. The temperature felt great, the wind was above breezy and the early run drizzle was cold. Overall, the repeats felt great I was more comfortable the more I completed. I averaged a bit faster than my pace range, but if you look at the total vertical gain it's easy to see that the course was flat. This brings up another point, run the terrain not the pace.

Saturday, January 8
Distance: 5 mi.
Time:0:40:00
Vertical Gain: 193 ft.

Overall, I'm glad I got outside to run, but it was the worst run of the week. I planned to do 8, but after 5 miles I had had enough. It was incredibly windy, cold, and I just couldn't get into a zone. I considered pushing it justifying that it was just mental lapse, but sticking with my, 'conservative training plan' this year I called it after I took a bathroom break and forgot to start my watch again. Some runs are bet spent not running the planned run.

Sunday, January 9
Distance: 15 mi.
Time: 2:11:26
Vertical Gain: 1,770 ft.

After yesterday's poor showing I was more apprehensive about the run than usual. Kennesaw Mtn. is not the flattest toward the tops, as the vertical clearly explains. Ran with Robert today, I'm glad. My legs felt great, my lungs stronger than they have all week. We didn't let our minds speak when we came to the fork, the trail goes left, and up-and-over, or right, and back to the visitor center. Our plan was up and over, but after 11.25 miles, 900+ feet of vertical gain isn't on the forefront of the cerebral cortex. But, we kept our mouths shut and when we turned toward Pigeon Hill it was like we had just started running. Committing to the run and taking the first step have two very different reactions in the brain. For me, after the first step there's no stopping me. The hill commanded respect and all we showed it was the bottom of our shoes. A great way to end the week.