Category: Waning

Summary March 25-31

On By siegmunaIn Barefoot, barely coherent rambling, Depletion, Expletive, Hours, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Life, Low points, Motivation, Summary, trail running, Waning, WhiningLeave a comment
Sunday March 25 AM 5.1 Miles 740′ :42 Typical power line trail run, feeling a little bit sluggish, as the clock obviously reflects. Legs have been feeling pretty good, but no motivation to push anything beyond a leisurely pace.
PM 1 Mile Barefoot 8:35 Enjoying the chance to lose the shoes.

Monday March 26 AM 1 Mile 7:41 Long academic day, trying to keep the streak alive.
PM 1 Mile 8:11 Seemed like I should at least TRY to get out twice, even after spending several hours after rehearsal celebrating a friends birthday (with all of the associated libations) lets call it a gumption-harnessing mile.

Tuesday March 27 AM 18 Miles 1125′ 2:20 Road running through town, for some reason I lacked the motivation to drive to a trailhead to run for a few hours. Occasionally it seems a lot less like a daunting task if I can remove the commute (even though that commute is <15min) for a longer run. The nice thing about the road runs is that I feel less inclined to bring as much Gu/Fluid, which certainly helps me train my body to run slightly dehydrated, and burn fat more easily.

Wed March 28 AM 10.3 Miles 1480′ 1:27 Doubled the power line loop, keeping the pace relatively relaxed. It’s becoming apparent that a big part of this whole “high mileage” thing is slogging through the mundane monotony of getting out for some reasonable mileage on a daily basis.

Thurs March 29 AM 10.3 Miles 1480′ 1:26 Same vibe as Wednesday, starting to feel some of the slog setting in, especially as my motivation/energy levels continue to wane.
PM 1 Miles 8:04 Evening shakeout. ‘Nuff said.

Fri March 30 AM 20.4 Miles 2030′ 2:41 Ran an up tempo road course through the town for the first 10 miles at ~7:20 pace, then followed it up with a doubling of the power line loop. For the first time in a while, I’m beginning to regain some sense of flow, feeling more like I’m floating over the trail than running it. I also managed to negative split on the 2nd of the two power line loops, without trying to, which is rather encouraging.

Sat March 31 PM 8 Miles :57 Joined Jeff and Dave for a run on the Columbia Trail, unfortunately, due to the rescheduling of a dress rehearsal, I had to bail out early so I could shower, and suit up for the concert.

Totals: 76.1 Miles, 6855′ Vert, 9h58m

March Totals:  382.9 Miles, 38,905′ Vert 42h25m

 Not the highest mileage week, I’ve been feeling inexplicably tired, lethargic really, and my motivation is beginning to wane. This, compounded with increased academic responsibilities, gigs, and the ever-failing attempts to maintain a social life that’s semi-representative of the 20-something that I am has been making more substantial mileage a real stretch. Overall, the month of March is my highest mileage in a calendar month to date, which I suppose is something I should be celebrating, but instead I’m slightly concerned/embarrassed at the lackadaisical approach I’ve had over the last two weeks. With this 50 mile race looming over the horizon, as well as some tapes to make, and papers to write, I’m expecting April to be a substantial grind. Hopefully the next couple of weeks I’ll be able to maintain a respectable amount of mileage, grind through the monotony, and complete a couple extra-long runs to test out some nutrition/hydration issues before the race.

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Summary Feb 19-25

On By siegmunaIn Depletion, Hours, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Life, Low points, Motivation, road running, Running, Running Partners, Slogging, Stress, Summary, trail running, Views, Waning, Whining, WinterLeave a comment
Sunday Feb 19, 1 Mile, 8:31 Typical shakedown mile, figure I should take a couple of days extra light after the 8 day 117 mile effort….. things felt good, legs a bit heavy, but nothing unusual


Monday Feb 20, 1 Mile, 7:46 Same as previous day, it’s strange how lacking my life feels without substantial mileage… In spite of a full day of class/rehearsals/practicing/generally doing things I need/should be doing, the omission of a morning and evening run makes the day seem… empty

Tuesday Feb 21, 6.4 Miles, 270′ 50:49 Had to get some work done on my car, landed a ride back home from dropping it off from the shop, and relied on legs to retrieve it. Tried to add as much vert as I could en route to the shop, but alas, only a few hundred feet. Everything felt very soggy, heavy legs, and general lethargy, could have sworn I was running 9+ minute miles… but apparently I was an eyelash under 8’s…

Wed Feb 22, AM 5.1 Miles, 740′ 39:53 Power Line Trails, slightly up tempo, not pushing too hard since this is supposed to be a “recovery” week, Again, things felt relatively soggy, not particularly weak, but certainly not what I’d consider strong.
PM 1 Mile, 8:02 Usual evening shakeout, just trying to get back into my normal rhythm/swing of things.


Thurs Feb 23, AM 12.1 Miles 1650′ 1:48:26 Allamuchy Double-summit, although I foolishly took a wrong turn adding a half a mile, and some vert, you’d think that I would know the trail system by now, but apparently my autopilot is lacking. Beautiful warm day, and it feels fantastic to be on the mountain proper after a few days of not really running/hitting the pavement/running the local power line trails. Things still don’t feel 100% strong, but then again, I think I’ve completely forgotten what truly fresh legs feel like, and they’re certainly no worse off than what I’ve been dealing with for the past several weeks, so I suppose I should consider myself fundamentally recovered from last weeks mileage stacking PR.
PM 5 Miles, 360′ 36:54 Broken Shin Loop. I started out with the group but after about a mile… maybe an eyelash more, a cloud of darkness seemed to cloud my brain, causing me to simply take off up the hill. I’m not sure what exactly it was, but I seemed immediately confronted with my own interpretations of personal failures, inequities, and all other such things that seem to linger in the sub-conscious. Needless to say, I felt an insatiable urge to continue to rest of the run in solitude, and picked up my pace significantly to earn some space/enjoy the rhythm of a few miles run harder than I would have planned for the back 5 of a 17 mile day….

Fri Feb 24, 5.1 Miles, 740′ 40:14 Feeling a bit beat up from the previous day, and having a substantial amount of professional commitments to attend to throughout the day, it seemed like a good day to lay low, nevermind the rain, and subsequent shiggy trail conditions. I did, however, manage to stretch my ever-sketchy left ankle more than I’d like on a slippery rock, and convinced that I had rolled it, found myself running while cursing in torrents and knotting my fists, only to realize after several hundred yards that it was feeling normal.

Sat Feb 25, 15 Miles, 620′ 1:53:32 Up-tempo pavement session with Dave and Jeff. Legs felt certifiably like crap (although extended flat pavement sessions typically have that effect on me) but then again, running when my legs feel awful is a substantial part of my training plan. Having the company is certainly advantageous for getting my sleepy self out of bed in the morning, as well as sharing the burden of pacing throughout a run. Also, ankle felt fine, good sign.

Totals: 51.7 Miles, 7380′ Vert, 6h54m

It feels strange, and extremely self-righteous to say that a ~52 mile week is a down training week… even with 7380′ of vert. In addition to the mileage reduction, this week provided me with a noticeable amount of professionally-oriented stress, most notably agreeing to a Mock Audition in front of the Vienna Philharmonic coming up this Friday (3/2) which I’m still feeling substantially under-prepared for. This forced me to substantially increase my practice time (which was a bit easier to do given the mileage reduction, and abundance of energy I had as a result thereof) which is something I have no qualms with, but for reasons I cannot understand, I felt often overwhelmed both with the sisyphian amount of work I had to do, as well as consistently confronted with reminders of previous failures ranging from personal to professional to the fickle things, such as my mounting pile of laundry. As such, I’m forced to conclude that at this point in my life, ~52 miles in seven days is far too few for me to maintain a level head, feel balanced, and in touch with myself, my surroundings, my body, and keep my stress levels at bay. This being said, I don’t anticipate this upcoming week to be substantially better as far as base level stress is concerned, with a Mock Audition on Friday, an Audition to record, and a last minute orchestra gig on Saturday (there goes my chance to go for an indulgent weekend destination binge run!(but alas, I do need to pay my bills)) Hopefully an increase in general daily mileage will prove advantageous to my mental health.

Dave (left) and Jeff