By Sunday, I will have run 42 miles this week, the majority of them between Monday and Thursday. Given that I also ran Saturday and Sunday last week, I ran 6 days in a row for a total of 52 miles. I had planned to run today, but realized that it was just too many miles too many days in a row. I need to pay better attention to my run scheduling. Nearly every training plan schedules a step back week as part of the plan. Depending on the plan, step back weeks occur every 3-5 weeks and include a drop in mileage of anywhere from 15-50%. I've been doing two weeks of build then one week step back where I try to drop the mileage by about 20%. (My last step back was a whopping 60% drop. Oops.) Here's how a step back week benefits a … [Read more...]
What’s your #bestrun lately?
Miss Zippy asked recently about everyone's best run. Frankly, after my five half marathons adventure, I wasn't sure when I was going to have a mediocre run again, much less a best run. Thankfully, it seems my body has recovered (just in time to run another half marathon this coming Sunday.) I'll admit, my last half marathon in New Mexico was perhaps the best run I've had in a long time. It was far from my fastest, but I felt strong and happy for most of the run. It was the first time in a long time I got to experience a runner's high. And then I started my recovery runs. OMG. They were just awful. Slow, painful, legs of lead. Like every runner I know, I began to question if I'd ever get back to normal. Finally, yesterday, I … [Read more...]
TTT: Tired, Slow, and, umm, Fluffy
1. I'm still tired. I was never really sore, but I've been sleeping soundly for 8-10 hours every night. When I'm awake, I'm still tired. I'm pretty sure this is just recovery from pushing myself, but since I didn't really race the first four and even the fifth one was slower than my previous slowest half, I admit I'm a bit surprised. I'm sure a little bit is a mental issue too. I'm caught somewhere between the "OMG, I did it" high and the "I can't believe it's over" low. Sitting here with no real goals on the horizon feels weird after investing so much energy for 8 months! 2. I'm really slow. I went out for a run with my dad on Tuesday. We ran 3 miles at a 10:oo minute pace. For a short distance, that pace should have been … [Read more...]
How to run really really slowly
I am very much in the school of thought that believes that easy/recovery runs and long runs should be run at a comfortable pace. This is not to say that you shouldn't run tempo runs/intervals/speedwork, etc. at a fast pace. Just that you should take it truly easier on your recovery runs. But how many of us are likely to do that? Based on my recent 8k, McMillan says I should run my easy runs between 9:59-10:52 and my recovery runs between 11:00 and 11:50. I can guarantee you that my RRCA books would say even slower. And I'll be honest - I can't stand to see an 11 at the start of a mile. In my mind, I am faster than that. So, even if I set out with the best of intentions of staying slow, I NEVER run that slowly (unless I start way too … [Read more...]
Three Things Thursday: Chiro, 100 miles, and PInterest
1. I saw a different chiro yesterday. He went to work on a calf issue I've been having. I pretty much cried like a baby. Then he put on some KT Tape and told me to run with it today. The result? 4.1 miles of pain free, barefoot running on the treadmill. Yay! He also told me I should try wearing calf sleeves. Guess it's time to actually review those Tommie Copper sleeves I have. 2. I have 1.3 miles left to hit 100 miles for the month and 6.5 miles left to hit 800 for the year. I think if I'd known that was all I had left, I would have kept running. Good thing I didn't know. I'm trying really hard to be smart about both my increase of mileage and my barefoot running. I'm also trying to be happy about that 800 miles. I've been … [Read more...]
GU Recovery Brew Review and some heat training
GU Recovery Brew There were a few packages of Recovery Brew in the lovely package* I received a few weeks ago. I've now had both flavors after long runs, with one long run in between where I didn't use it. The verdict: It seems to make a difference, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to get it. I tried the Orange Pineapple a few weeks ago after my 19 mile run. I didn't love the taste, but I managed to get most of it down. It didn't bother my stomach at all and seemed to give me some energy afterwards, but I didn't feel like it was anything spectacular. Last week I drank the Strawberry Watermelon flavor after my 20 mile run. Now this is a flavor I can get behind. I really liked it and had no trouble drinking the whole thing. I … [Read more...]
