Nov 29-Dec 5
M- 75 min, 10 miles
40 min, 6 miles (16)
T- AM 17 min warm-up
10 mile progressive run (56:10)
15 min cool down
PM Run 30 min, 4 miles (18)
W- 80 min, 10 miles
29 min, 4 miles (14)
T- 70 min, 10 miles
42 min, 6 miles (16)
F - 41 min, 6 miles
S- 20 minute warm-up
Workout 2 X 3200m (10:44, 10:40),
1 X 3000m (9:38), 5 min recovery run
20 min cool down (11)
S- 152 min, 19+ miles
Total: 100 miles
These are the weeks where I'm really glad that I keep records of my mileage and times. I used to be very opposed to this because it mostly just meant more work. The other reason was that I would worry too much about constant improvement. However, there are a lot of benefits to keeping track of where you are in your fitness, especially when you are doing the same loops and out-and-backs and track workouts. It gives you a reference point to see how far you've come and how quickly you've gotten there. And where most observations in running can be seen qualitatively (muscle definition, fatigue, level of effort, etc.), it is nice to put down numbers to add some clarity to the ritual.
For example, today I am doing 6 miles in the AM and 6 in the PM. I noticed on my morning run that even though I felt pretty fatigued from the 20 hilly miles I did yesterday, I was still averaging around 6:50 miles. This came as a surprise since I felt so tired, but numbers don't lie.
As for the track workouts, I'm still chipping away at my times. It's not so much that I'm getting a lot faster, I think I'm just gaining more control over my form at high speeds, as well as dealing with the discomfort of lactic acid build-up.
There is still a large part of me that wants to go for a 40 mile jog in the mountains on Saturday's. But for now the big race on my schedule is Mad City 100K, which consists of ten loops of a flat 10k course in Madison, WI.
