Week 11

Mon 9/23 – rest

Tues 9/24 – 5ish mi 

Aside from having some serious indigestion for the first half (overeating on all of the kinds of food you shouldn’t over eat on and then going for a run will apparently do that to you), it was a lovely run through the Wisconsin woods (which are strikingly similar to the NJ woods…but with more bears…). Not much to report other than that one should beware of eating ones weight in baked goods immediately before a run. Who knew?!?!

Wed 9/25 – rest

Thurs 9/26 – 11 mi 

Started cultures early and then went out to get the miles in. It was a beautiful morning and all went surprisingly well.The first half was net-downhill and I was kinda on cruise control. It toughened up for the last ~3 miles which were net-uphill, but with the cooler weather and end in sight pushing through was surprisingly “easy.” 1/2 bag of fruit snacks and 4 oz water (plus pre-run hydration) did the trick, and I never really felt a wall. 🙂

Fri 9/27 – rest

Sat 9/28 – 20 mi

So, it turns out that sleeping in until 9 am is NOT a good decision on long run day even at the end of September in NJ. It was a great day, sunny, calm, mid 70s, but by the end it felt hot! The run was broken up into three segments – 1) 5.5 mi to work, 2) 6 mi around work and 3) 5.5 + 3 mi back home + loop around home. Now, they were all just one right after another, but there were two nice pit stops in there so this might be cheating just a bit. However, given my schedule lately, if I can cheat a little and knockout two birds with one stone, I’m all for it!!

The legs started out feeling pretty well, far better than last week’s long run. Of course things broke down to a certain extent in the later miles, but all things considered I felt well through out. The right lower butt (yes, yes that is the proper medical term… Actually, I’m really not sure what to call the location exactly, its in the lower part of my butt + top/back part of my leg . Does anyone have any ideas?), and the hammies started getting particularly tight by mile 16 or so, but nothing that couldn’t be stretched out and run through – focusing on maintaining good form. Joy joy joy.

 3 x 4 oz water during the run and some serious 2 x pit stop fountain guzzling + 2 bags of fruit snacks. All things considered I felt pretty well hydrated and fueled. While it got hot, I think that was the case regardless of H2O intake, drinking more wouldn’t have done much to alleviate the direct 2 pm sun. 

Sun 9/29 – 10 mi

I was a bit worried that after yesterday this was going to be  a struggle. I was wrong!! 🙂 Overall I felt great – definitely on worn legs and a bit sleepy, but it was a beautiful day and everything worked together nicely. The right side is still tight and requires babying every few miles with a stretch or two, but that’s the worst of it. The cooler temps are awesome according to the lung and muscle department (for both during runs and recoveries)

Total mileage =  46 mi

Sorry, no embarrassing fun pictures this week. It’s been enough just keeping my head above water much less acquiring photographic evidence of this. On the bright side, things are feeling good! I actually feel like I’m able to maintain some sort of speed during my short runs as well as strength through the long runs with a bit of speed at the end. AND the icing on this great big cake is that it’s all happening in the midst of a crazy schedule and without an arsenal of worrisome pains! Yippe!! ( and knock on wood!! 🙂 Maybe there really is something to this theory of their being a benefit to training in both physically and mentally draining conditions. Hopefully it’ll translate in Philly!

Threads – tanks or tees (+/- arm warmers), running skirts or capris for the chilly mornings, + compression for the long runs and Mizunos (Wave Creation 11s and Wave Elixer 6s)