Month: January 2013

Summary Jan 14-20

On By siegmunaIn barely coherent rambling, Cold, fitness, hashers, Hours, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, road running, Running, Summary, trail running, Views, Whining, WinterLeave a comment
Monday Jan 14 AM 4.7 Miles, 860′ :37 Local neighborhood loop with a couple of decent hills thrown in. This is usually a lame cop-out for a seven mile loop when I’m not feeling so spry.
PM 2 Miles, :16 Treadmill
Loosening up before hitting the weights for the legs. I’m beginning to recognize that the rhythm of the treadmill has some small advantages in pace-location.
PM 2, 1 Mile :9 Treadmill
“Official” shakeout mile after weights.

Tuesday Jan 15, 7 Miles 940′ :50 Slow-ish jaunt through the local roads, adding weight training is definitely having an effect on my recovery-time, as well as the general weightiness that my legs are feeling

Wed Jan 16, AM 5 Miles 1480′ 42:30 Power line trails. Trails were covered in a mix of ice, sleet, and snow, I probably should have worn spikes, but the roads accessing the trail were completely clear.
PM 2 Miles, :16 Treadmill
Typical pre-weights loosening
PM 2, 1 Mile :9
Shakeout

Thurs Jan 17, AM 3.5 Miles 1150′ :33 Power line trails, abbreviated version. Trying to get a good “recovery” pace in my legs (it turns out that I’m really awful at forcing myself to run at a sub-maximal effort)
PM 5 Miles 720′ 44:15 Broken Shin Loop at a true recovery pace. First time in quite a while that absolutely no one was looking to push the pace the slightest bit. Good recovery run.

Fri Jan 18, 6.6 Miles 4880′ 1:22 Mount Tammany repeats with Bob and Dave. I’m hoping to get out for a lot more in the way of hill-specific training (in spite of the fact that most of the courses I run are rather hilly) in an attempt to feel more comfortable on uphills, and not lose strength as quickly. Trails were icy and snowy, which in spite of using micro-spikes made a 3rd loop (when already fatigued) seem like a bad idea.

Sat Jan 19, 9.2 Miles 1400′ 1:14 Colombia Trail>Schooleys Mountain. I thought this would be a rough/slow run, and at times it certainly felt like it, but overall the pace was pretty spot-on. I still need to work out my pacing however, since I definitely was feeling a little ragged on the final 5k back to the car

Sun Jan 20, 4.7 Miles, 860′ :38 Planned to do 7, but as soon as I got out of the neighborhood, that started looking like a bad idea. My legs just weren’t having it, and in actuality, felt like they had already run 30 or 40 miles today, which certainly isn’t a good thing.

Totals: 51.7 Miles, 12,290′ 7h31m

Overall I was definitely feeling pretty well beat-up this week, which is to be expected anytime I change my mileage/workout plans as much as I have in the past several weeks. Weather permitting, I’m hoping to increase my trail-mileage, and subsequently my vertical change, but it may take some time to balance things out with the semesters beginning coinciding with these plans.

Photo: Dave Franz

Photo: Bob Skorupski

Photo: Bob Skorupski

Photo: Bob Skorupski

Photo: Bob Skorupski

Summary Jan 7 – 13

On By siegmunaIn barely coherent rambling, Depletion, fitness, Hours, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Life, Races, road running, Running, Snow, trail running, WinterLeave a comment
Monday Jan 7, AM 7 Miles, 940′ :47 
 Very average run through the neighborhood. Feeling rather fortunate that I have a quick local route that lets me pass a couple of farms as well as spend over a mile running directly uphill (albeit at a rather modest grade).
PM 2 Miles :16 Treadmill
Shakeout at the gym followed by some weights on the legs.

Tuesday Jan 8, 7 Miles, 940′ :49
 One of the unexpected side effects of adding weights to my routine is the inherent deadness in my legs. Granted, only losing 2 minutes on the course isn’t really a big deal, but being able to run the route with leaden legs is definitely useful as far as endurance cash in the bank for later.

Wed Jan 9, AM 5 Miles, 1480′ :40
Power-line trails. I wish I had bothered to bring spikes, but the ~mile or so of road running required to access the trails was enough to make me leave them at home (seeing as if I wear them on pavement, they’ll quickly be worn down to nubs, and I’m so incorrigibly opposed to carrying shit while I run). Unfortunately the trails themselves proved to be a combination of slush, hard packed snow, and ice, forcing me to rely on a combination of luck and balance to not faceplant in the snow.
PM 2 Miles :16 Treadmill
Shakeout at the gym followed by a slightly less ambitious leg workout.

Thurs Jan 10, AM 3.5 Miles 1150′ 29:30
Woke up feeling unusually lethargic and leaden, so even getting out for a run seemed like pulling teeth. Although, once I hit the trail, things quickly became a lot more enjoyable, even if my legs were feeling heavy.
PM 5 Miles, 720′ :43
Broken Shin Loop, at a miraculously recovery-oriented pace. Sprinted the last 1/4 mile or so with Butters, which is always a good time (and damn, can he move)

Fri Jan 11, 2 Miles, 16:30
Really run-down today, tired, heavy-legged, and generally not feeling like doing anything.

Sat Jan 12, 7 Miles 940′ :48
Much more like my “normal” self, and really enjoying the runs where I’m comfortably under 7:00 pace.

Sun Jan 13, 10 Miles 1100′ 1:15
 I think this by default counts as my “long” run for the week, although calling a 10 miler “long” seems like a bit of a stretch. I think I’ve only broken double digits 3 or so times since last May’s injury, and hitting it at a reasonable clip is really encouraging. Every time I start getting near higher distances, I find myself afraid of the inevitable swings in energy levels, but in actuality, they’re never as bad as I think it’s going to be.

Totals: 50.5 Miles, 7270′ 6h20m

Finally in the fifties. So far, so good, it feels like training, but right now I’m seeing no signs of any previous injuries coming back (knock on wood). I’m starting to really look forward to hitting bigger miles, and beginning to add a legitimate long-run into my plans. It seems that my brain goes a little haywire prior to adding the big run into my routine, mostly a result of fear with regard to the inevitability of bonking, GI issues, and the litany of unexpected troubles that seem to be inevitable over the course of a training season, but I know I’ve done it all before, and it’s really not that bad, so bring on the beast.


Summary Dec 31 – Jan 6

On By siegmunaIn barely coherent rambling, Cold, Depletion, fitness, hashers, Hours, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Life, Running, Running Partners, Slogging, Snow, trail running, WinterLeave a comment
Monday Dec 31, 4.5 Miles, 2400′ :53
  Fresh Powder run with Jason up and around Allamuchy TH>Summit>Far parking lot and back. Saturday brought about 3 or 4 inches of fresh snow, which gave me ample excuse to try out a new pair of MICROspikes on the hill, which probably weren’t necessary in the fresh snow, but over the course of the week because invaluable on the trough like ice-luge that the trail eventually became.

Tuesday Jan 1, AM, 3 Miles 320′ :28
New Years day run with the Highlands Hashers. Really relaxed recovery pace on local roads.
PM 2 Miles :15 Treadmill
This year I’m trying to be a lot smarter about cross-training and strength-training, especially when my mileage is low. Ideally, lifting some weights, and doing some treadmill-specific workouts (such as prolonged uphills, which are impossible to do on the east-coast…) should pay off later. This 2 mile dreadmill session was really just a warmup for a heavy leg-workout which ended up deadening my legs for the remainder of the week.

Wed Jan 2, 7 Miles, 940′ :48
Dead-leg tempo run on roads local to my house. Pretty uneventful overall, in spite of the mild lethargy and general weighty feeling that my legs had throughout.

Thurs Jan 3, AM 4.5 Miles 2400′  :48
First 2 Allamuchy summits of the year. The snow at this point has been packed down into tunnel of ice and hard packed snow, which with the aid of some MICROspikes can be a really fun run.  The snow basically fills in all of the gaps the the rocks create on the trail, making for a rather tame (technically speaking) pathway on which to run, of course, the mid-20’s temperatures that we’ve had since the snowfall seems to have turned a lot of this into patches of ice, and snow packed hard enough that without a traction assistant, you can expect to spend half of the run flat on your ass. I’m still not used to carrying an extra 1/2 pound on each foot, but it seems like I’ll get used to it.
PM 5 Miles 720′ 40:23
Broken shin loop with the Highlands Hashers.

Fri Jan 4, 8.5 Miles, 2400′ 1:26
Double summit of Allamuchy after a few miles of rail trail with Bob. Semi-scouting, but mostly checking out the area, and getting a good run in. By the last 2 miles, I felt unusually bonk-y which is kind of pathetic considering the relatively short run-time, and comparatively slow pace. I can only assume that the previous couple of days weren’t recovered well, which makes sense, considering the overall weightiness of my legs throughout the whole run. Better start the suffering now than have it show up closer to race-season.

Sat Jan 5, 6 Miles Freezing Cold Hash (no recorded time, no altimeter)
Freezing cold hash is an annual hash in Edison NJ. The link should explain it all

Sun 1 Mile 8:30
Feeling some pretty serious soreness in my left adductor, and being a little gun-shy, I decided not to push it. After the mile, everything feels fine, but it’s so early in the year/my training plans that listening to my body on these sorts of things seems like a no-brainer.
 

Totals: 41.5 Miles, 9180′ 5h55m

Definitely fewer miles than I had originally expected to do, but I’m pretty happy with the overall vertical change, as well as Wed’s dead-leg tempo. Things are very early, and I’m certainly not willing to go crazy with my mileage yet, but overall my legs feel really solid, I just need to get used to running a lot again, and figure out how to best integrate strength training into my running regimen.

NYE Allamuchy, Photo: Jason Friedman
Thursday Morning
Bob posing on Friday
Freezing Cold Hash, Photo:Dave Franz

Jason on Allamuchy, NYE