Training log - Week ending 7/03/11

This week was 41 miles of “real running” and 17 “miles” pool running plus 2000m of swimming -- training log is here. Not much to report here – still feeling very good, with everything feeling better each week. I’ve been working a lot on the minor stuff identified by my gait analysis last week, and it seems to work wonderfully – holding my pelvis correctly (I envision tying a belt around my hips and being pulled forward by that) appears to make a significant difference in the pace associated with a given effort. So yay.

No long run this week, as I race on Monday. Of course, it’s going to be hot and humid, and a hilly course, so I won’t be able to draw many conclusions from my time. But it will be a good opportunity to practice racing while holding relaxed form with proper hip position.

Dailies

Monday: 1000m of swimming breathing drills (all with pull buoy) plus 40 minutes easy pool-running for “4 miles”, followed by injury prevention exercises. Did ART on my hips in the afternoon, plus stretching and foam rolling.

Tuesday: In the morning, 11.5 miles, including 6 hill repeats – nonstop circuit of up a hill for about 2 minutes, a 90 second easy jog, a stride, and then some more easy jogging to the bottom (whole circuit takes ~5 minutes) We averaged 7:22 pace for the full 6 repeat circuit (just over 4 miles). . Followed with some injury prevention exercises and then a shakeout 20 minutes easy pool-running, for “2 miles”. Strength-training plus foam-rolling at night.

Wednesday: In the morning, 11.5 very easy miles outside (8:35 pace) plus some drills and strides post run. Followed by 1000m of swimming breathing drills (some with the pull buoy, some without). Massage at night.

Thursday: In the morning, "6.5 miles" of easy pool-running (65 minutes) followed by strength-training and injury prevention exercises. Foam-rolling and stretching at night.

Friday: In the morning, 9 miles on the track in very nice weather. Because I race on Monday, my tempo was cut back to 2 miles, quartermile jog, 1 mile. Ended up running the 2 miles in 13:17 (6:41/6:36), followed by a mile in 6:19. Coach told me it was too fast, but it felt almost effortless (and my HR was much lower than normal) – I was really trying to slow down and just focus on staying relaxed, and each split was a bit of a surprise. Part of it may be attributable to the dry air, and also to the work that I’ve been doing on my posture, plus the fact that I was wearing my racing flats instead of my trainers (my normal tempo shoe).

Followed with “3 miles” of easy pool-running (30 minutes). An easy pilates session (working on alignment) in the evening.

Saturday: In the morning, an easy run of 9.5 miles (8:08 pace), followed by drills and strides, and then “1.5 miles” of easy pool-running (15 minutes). Did some injury prevention and stretching in the afternoon.

Sunday: Off. Just foamrolling, injury prevention exercises, and stretching.