February 21 - February 27

Weekly Totals: Distance: 37.19 mi. (44.22 mi.) Time: 05:19:34 Vertical: 2,512 ft.
*(Includes last Sunday's Run)


Monday ~ Adrenaline Climbing
Distance: 0.00 mi.
Time: 0:00:00
Vertical: 0 ft.

Yesterday's poor showing on the run left me thoughts of, "maybe I didn't take enough rest after the Sweetwater Race," and, "Why am I not recovering?" I'm just, today, at a point of exhaustion and need to find a way to reset. Training isn't always about the miles, because we the training gets to that point the risk of over-training sky rockets. An easy climb night at the gym, hopefully I can get my legs back under me this week.

Tuesday ~ Collins Hill Park/Collins Hill Rd.
Distance: 10.01 mi.
Time: 01:20:52
Vertical: 860 ft.

I'm feeling so much better today, guess the light training day, yesterday and probably Sunday's scrubbed long run, really helped. Decided to rock the headlamp, again, tonight on the trail. I'm getting much more comfortable with judging the terrain, of course, I do run at Collins Hill Park a lot in the daytime, but everything looks different at night. Did an easy 4 miles on the trail in the New Balance Minimus, and airing on the side of caution (although, with the beautiful maintenance by the Gwinnett County Parks & Recreation department the mulch is soft enough I think I could have kept the last 6 miles of the run there) I slide on a test pair of NIKE LunarElites 2 and hit the road, to gather some feedback and gets some need leg cadence. So far, the NIKE's are definitely for someone that does not want to feel the road beneath. The foam disperses shock more than any shoes that I've run in. This is neither bad, nor good, just a personal preference for what you like to feel on the run. For me, I like a much firmer and more responsive shoe, but I told NIKE I'd log at least 100 miles in them and give 'em feedback. 94 to go.

Wednesday ~ Alexander Park; Tuesday Night Run Course; Adrenaline Climbing
Distance: 8 mi. (Total)
Time: 01:07:29 (Total)
Vertical: 258 ft.

AM: Took in a much needed, flat, soft course, in the morning. I have a race this weekend, and instead of following the usual training pattern I've substituted the hard effort today for a recovery run, so I don't burn out quite as much as I did after the last half. Hindsight, I think the long run the day after the last half is what did it in for me. The run felt great, though. No shirt, light wind, and lots of sunshine.

PM: Ran with Andy, tonight. I was hesitant to hit the road, but having someone to run with made it not much of decision. The pace was easy, and just like in the morning, I ran negative splits and my legs felt great.

PM 2: Great day of climbing. I can always tell I'm recovering when my cross-training efforts aren't as tiring. I'm starting to look forward to the 'race' Saturday.

Thursday ~ n/a
Distance: 0.00 mi.
Time: 0:00:00
Vertical: 0 ft.

I know I should run, but I just couldn't get up this morning and out the door and I don't want to run on the road at night. This week, I've really been trying to listen a little more to my body and anytime you mentally are struggling for almost two weeks now to get up and run it probably means you need some rest. Rest day's are just as important as run day's, so no use and fighting it.

Friday ~ n/a
Distance: 0.00 mi.
Time: 0:00:00
Vertical: 0 ft.

With tomorrow a 20 mile run with a 13.1 mile tempo (race) in the middle, I'm feeling better but I decided to take cautions side, once again. Rest day #2, and I'm getting antsy to run.

Saturday ~ Thrill In The Hills Half Marathon
Distance: 19.50 mi. (Total)
Time: 02:36:38
Vertical: 1,394 ft.

Fully recovered, a planned 20 miler, and near perfect weather. I woke up this morning with a bit of hesitation, and a stomach ache. In the end, the hesitation was solved with a great tempo run (01:35:14) nestled between about 7 miles of easy running, and the stomach ache kept nagging. I'll post a race recap later this week, or maybe today.

Monthly Totals:
Distance: 167.68 mi. Time: 24:46:43 Vertical: 18,935 ft.

This month started out absolutely fabulous. My weekly miles peaked at 70+ miles, something I haven't done in forever. And the very same week I placed 2nd overall in the Sweetwater Sweetheart Half Marathon (Trail). Courtesy of that performance, I let my training take over my knowledge and it wound up leaving me humbled by the end of the month. My totals should have been about 40 miles more, and had I taken at least two rest days after the half, I believe they would have, but I didn't. In the end, I caught the mistake and only gave up 40 miles of running (less than a week of running), so I can't complain about the expericence because I learned a little more where my limits are, as of now, in my training. March should bring up some great times, miles, and vertical. Upcoming race: Publix Georgia Marathon, however, it'll be a training run just like the last two races have been, but I hope to produce a decent time. Making these first couple of race, "B" and "C" races will ensure a proper preparation for the Sweetwater 50k, which will be the first actual race of the season. That means the culmination of 28 weeks of training, with a nice peak and a hard as hell effort in April should warrant a great time. But, I've got 7 weeks to maintain and squeeze out as much fitness gain as possible. Usually, and rightfully, this will mean I have to be patient and not over-do the efforts, especially in the upcoming marathon.