Training Log Archive: Ari-o

Last big week of training before taper is past, and things seem to be going well. Legs are tired after 34m this weekend, but no injury pain. Looking forward to a few fewer hours, and some rollerskiing (double poling?) in the next couple of weeks. Only weird thing is that I still can't coax more than 8 hours of sleep out of myself, even going to bed dead tired at 10 I've been waking up before any alarms/sun. But haven't been tired during the day, so maybe my body is getting what it needs.

Managed a 67m week this past week, at least 7h of training every week since late August. I think this is my most consistent 26.2 training, especially since in the past I've had marathons either not long after ski season or with training peaks in basically summer.

To review (figures in miles):

2014: Decided I wanted to run a BQ on 4w notice. Did. 3:01. Probably still the best marathon weather I've run.

10 weeks before race week: 10, 4, 13, 13, 20, 22, 38, 48, 44, 28

2015: Boston. Lots of snow = lots of skiing, less running. 3:00, rain and headwind.

2, 1, 12, 34, 48, 31, 31, 35, 34, 13.

2016: Boston. 3:03. No other major issues. Didn't die.

4, 5, 37, 21, 23, 44, 50, 29, 19, 15

2017: Sugarloaf. 2:58. Warm at end but pretty good.

13, 4, 16, 29, 37, 51, 61, 51, 33, 40

2017: Chicago. 3:02. Warm, but really didn't die. (Big weeks on trails)

59, 14, 96, 55, 17, 29, 48, 20, 38, 30

2018: Boston. 3:02. Fucking cold and rainy.

11, 13, 3, 40, 24, 45, 56, 40, 23, 17

2019: Sugarloaf. 3:02. Cold, rainy and thesisy. Undertrained.

1, 19, 17, 48, 50, 40, 39, 38, 28, 17

2019: NYC. ?? Hopefully cool weather.

42, 41, 38, 48, 33, 53, 51, 68 -- --

That's not bad. In the past the only time I've ever had three 50+ mile weeks was 2017 Sugarloaf, and I ran a PR. This year I've peaked higher, done more specific training, and come in with a steady base to put miles on the legs (as opposed to ski season. The only week <40 this year is the week recovering after Pisgah.

C • Good training 2

Well I managed to figure out how to get my legs to feel pain: this past weekend!

Not acute injury pain, just some light DOMS. Needed to pick up discounted Rudy helmets from Brookline, so took a jog over there, the Hubway home, with new helmets: one on the noggin and one in the basket.

So I've run 276 miles in the past 30 days … and if I go out for 4 more today I'd hit 280 (tomorrow cycles out Pisgah, so I'd have to do it today). This won't necessarily not happen … this is already my highest mileage month of training (on foot) ever, or at least in the AP era (doesn't count when I started hiking the PCT in 2011, or the AT in 2006 … those were 20 miles per day, but not exactly running).

Every week for years I've gotten the email from Terry saying "let's go and run Battle Road on Sunday" and I usually have something else to do. But today, with the promise of 12-plus, I said, sure, what the heck.

He wanted to do 22. Well, twist my arm (but an out at 12). We went out with Patrick, who had run 20 fast (6:08!) yesterday, so he was appropriately tired, and we reeled off 12 at sub-8s, on a lovely day with foliage and other runners (one I knew, one I thought I knew).

Patrick tapped out at 12.5 but Terry and I went for 22 for him (21ish for me, out to Hartwell and then, at my suggestion, out the bike path. Flat miles. A hill coming back, and it was getting warm, into the 60s, but I made it back with water to spare.

Not bad for a last long run. Tapering awaits.

(New watch took 3+ hours to sync to Strava from the app today …)

On the odd end of the spectrum: I have only seem to needed 7h of sleep this week. Been waking up before any alarms, after approximately 7h. Maybe it's residual from last week when I was sick and getting 10h or more, but it usually doesn't work that way. May sleep with a watch on just to make sure nothing is super borked.

Up to run the Moosilauke-Tunnel Brook loop. It has a decent amount of actual running, which is good, basically zero crowds (excellent) and oh leaves too.

Oh and … uh … also a first date, because an 8-hour 14-mile first date trail run makes perfect sense, right? Right?

Color was great. Foggy on the top but dry. Went up Glencliff, some running, some hiking, since it's just a bit too steep. Few people. Over the top just as it was clearing a bit (lots of people appearing) and down Benton, pretty fast. Always interesting to run with a good (not great) downhiller.

Then up the road there, which ends at a trail. Or at least used to. Now it keeps going, which is confusing when you have your head down and don't see the trail sign buried in the woods and then run an extra half mile down a road and then back. Wasn't on the map (not that we'd brought it) and too bad, since we would have maybe taken some CRs on Strava, or at least been higher up the lists. Strava!

Oh well, then over the Tunnel, with a little calf cramping, but super fun out of Tunnel (that trail down, damn, wheeeeee—and she set the female CR) and picking some wild apples which were kind of thick-skinned but super sour.

This loop is so perfect it should be run as often as the goddamn Franconia Ridge loop.

Also, this … looks amazing. Swap out Hurricane-Carriage for Snapper and it's 24 miles. Start and end at Glencliff and it's, uh, 26.2.

Gross cold and rainy today. Still a little stuffy, so I'm going to wait it out.

I guess I should take a real day off every so often.

Went node hunting. Watch did not cooperate too well. Manually found mileage to be 3.5, not 3.1.

71 miles in the past 7 days and training is clicking.

Today was cold and raw, with a rain shield in the city but less to the north and west, and a stiff breeze from the northeast.

So, I wanted to head northwest from the city and run with the wind at my back. And it turns out that they just opened a new leg of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, so I can run most of the way from Lowell to West Concord in the woods, with trains at both ends, and perfect schedules. (Once the bridge across Route 2 is complete, this would be a heck of a half marathon course. Once it's done to Framingham, a marathon. Anyway.)

So train out to Lowell, a little late, and then I was off. After a mile I took off my windbreaker, and hit the bike path a couple of miles in. It was great. Pleasant, no cars or traffic, minimal crossings, and I only had to stop for cars once.

At mile 4 I decided to do some intervals. How about 3 miles at marathon pace? How about twice? Done. Both times felt good, also, both times were at high L2. Two miles easy in between (including stopping at a traffic light at 225).

Then the trail ended, so I got to run along 2A for a bit (but the bridge over 2A is very nice), and then around the rotary (West Concord Station is closer, but would involve crossing Route 2 at the rotary, so, no.) and then down Elm Street. All of the sudden I wasn't sure I remembered the train schedule so laid down a 7:20 for mile 17 to get there in time, but I had 6 minutes to spare.

And all this a day after a good hard track workout. Legs are feeling not bad.

Train to Waverley, bus bus home. Woo!

Run to track, warm up lap and strides and Emily Saul-led drills.

Track! After last week's debacle, this felt good. Led the group through this evening's CSU workout (although they skipped some): 1000-1200x2-1000-800-600-400, getting faster on the down ladder. And it went well:

3:49
4:32, 4:30
3:37
2:50
2:02 (Malcolm running the first 200 with me and pacing me for the first 100 and then tearing off, as he said "the best 100 I've run in years" but I had 400 to go)
1:18

So good speed progression, and that good hard feeling at the end.

ALSO it was beautiful out. A bit of open sky to the east, and a rain shower. So when you were running towards the sun you had glisteny raindrops with the sun in the background and, of course, on the homestretch there was a double rainbow. For a few minutes, anyway. Pretty magical time of day.

Cool downs and interstitials.