It’s been a long time since I posted a personal training update. In part that’s due to some not so exciting training the last three weeks in June, but also because I’ve focused on writing other iRunFar posts. Read on for more about my last 5+ weeks of training, the Finger Lakes Fifties 50k, and my upcoming plans.
As suggested above, June was not a good training month. I was in a training groove in April and May with solid mileage and weekly track workouts. Neither continued after I returned from pacing at the Squaw Peak 50 in Utah. Over the following three weeks I “logged” 35.5 miles on 5 runs, 30.5 miles on 4 runs, and 30.5 miles on 5 runs, respectively. I say logged because I think I may have run without my Garmin once or twice during this period and never recorded the runs. Even if I ran another 10-13 miles during that stretch, it’s still pretty weak. What’s worse is that most of the runs were very slow and I felt awful most of the time. The only upside was that I had 5 runs of 10 or 11 miles with two of those being moderately paced (for me) runs with Michael Wardian.
After three down weeks, I busted out 85 miles during the Fourth of July week. I started the week off well and then headed up to the Finger Lakes were I stayed with Iroquois Trails 100 RD and gracious host, Ian Golden. On Friday, I joined Ian and his buddies for an easy 5. To make a long story short, I ran the Finger Lakes Fifties 50k on Saturday. I ran the two 25k loops quite evenly (2:10/2:14 with maybe 2 minutes of stops in the scond loop) and ended up finishing in 2:24:10. Good enough for 5th. I really enjoyed the very runnable course on a cool and overcast day. The race would be much tougher had the sun been out or had it rained- the muddy would be awful. On Sunday, I ran 12 miles of the Iroquois Trails 100’s Loop 2. This race will be harder than most suspect. Much harder.
Last week (July 7-13), I ran 45 miles on 6 runs. Again, I felt bad and was unmotivated all week. The only enjoyable run was a relaxed 12 mile to and through the National Arboretum with the Rocket. The good news is I feel much better this week. Through Thursday, I’ve logged five runs totalling 32 miles. “Why so few miles on so many runs?” you ask. Well, over the weekend I decided to add some uphill treadmill training to the mix to get ready for the TransRockies Run. On Monday, I hit the treadmill after my morning running and gave up after a third of a mile. I gave it another go on Monday night when I managed 25 minutes at 13% and 5 mph and then another 10 minutes after 5 minutes of recovery. On Tuesday and Thursday, I logged continuous sessions of 30 mintues at the same settings. Both days I added increasing amounts of running up on my toes. This uphill treadmill training will benefit me at both TRR and another event coming up a little sooner…. Trail Runner Magazine’s Uphill Challenge at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in three weeks! I was so excited to learn that I’m in! [BTW, this means I’ve decided to attend ORSM ’08, so if you’ll be there, too, be sure to drop me a line!]
I need not look weeks into the future for speedy fun. Nope, this week I’ll be pacing AJW for the final 30 miles at the Vermont 100. I can’t wait! Further on down the road, it looks like I’ll also be pacing Leadville.
Here’s a summary of my upcoming schedule:
- July 19 – Pace AJW at Vermont 100
- August 9 – Uphill Challenge at the ORSM in Utah
- August 16 – Pace at Leadville 100
- August 25-30 – TransRockies Run in Colorado with teammate, Martin Gaffuri
- September 20 – Iroquois Trails 100 in New York
