Training log - Week ending 12/16/12

This week was 56.5 miles of “real running” and 15 “miles” pool running, plus 2000 yards of swimming breathing drills -- training log is here.  

Well, this was a nice, happy week.  

I went into it with a bit of trepidation, thinking that I might test out a hill workout by running up and down the hill easy.   And, whadyaknow.  True to my past history, the more I pushed my feet, the better they felt, and I ended up running a hill workout, a full tempo workout (my first real track workout in over a month), and a long run.  Pretty much a normal training week.  Just in time for marathon training to start.  

Woo.

Still some crampiness at the start and end of runs, but it's less and less with each run, as I build mileage.    And this is pretty much par for the course for me and my soft tissue injuries - as long as I protect them, they stay sore.  Push them a bit (but not too much), and they clear.  I understand the theory behind that - optimal loading:  

"When the training load falls on either side of the optimal, the repair process is compromised. If the load is too high, such that the body cannot fully recover prior to the next workout, breakdown can occur. Likewise, too little activity results in the body’s tissues becoming weaker. This is why simply resting doesn’t yield stronger tissues. Further, not every tissue in the body adapts at the same rate. Sometimes the body needs to be assisted to help it repair correctly. Specific loading of tissues helps the body repair."  

But always cool to see it in action.  BTW, Jay Dicharry's book "Anatomy for Runners" is really good.

And...also a programming note: I've been lax on the blogging front recently, due to balancing a lot of stuff outside of running.  Hopefully that will all be calming down and I'll be returning to more regular posts (so not just training logs) in the near future.  It's not that I've lost interest, or that I don't have content (I've got plenty), I've just had to prioritize.  I'm looking forward to being able to write more again.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 50 minutes of easy pool-running for “5 miles” and 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills, plus some upper body strengthwork and injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 10.5 miles including a workout of 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). Followed with injury prevention work (pool was closed). Floor barre and foam rolling at night.  

Wednesday:   In the morning, 8.5 minutes very easy (8:50 pace), followed by yoga.  Later, another 4.5 miles easy (7:58 pace).  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning 50 minutes of easy pool-running for “5 miles” plus some upper body strengthwork and injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night. 

Friday:  In the morning, 11.5 miles, including a tempo workout of 2x3200m - splits of 12:56 (6:32/6:24) and 12:42 (6:22/6:20), followed with injury prevention work and 30 minutes easy pool-running.  Pilates and foam-rolling in the afternoon.

Saturday:   In the morning, 7 miles easy (8:18 pace), followed by 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills.  Foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday:   In the morning, 14 miles progression averaging 7:38 pace, split as 8:28 average for first 4 miles, 7:36 for next 3, 7:19 for next 3, and 7:07 for last 4 (middle was too fast, and needs to be slowed).  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes of shakeout pool-running.   Yoga and foam rolling at night.