Training log - Week ending 4/28/13

This week was 66 miles of “real running” plus 14 “miles” pool running and 1200 yards swimming -- training log is here.  


Another week of training in the books.  I'm feeling fitter every week, and that's pretty nice - it's always quicker and easier to come back to a certain level of running than it is to get there in the first place.  And the feeling good part is fun. 

I was entered in the Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC this weekend, but opted to skip - I couldn't race it because I'm planning on racing the Broad Street 10 Miler next weekend.  And running races easy really just isn't fun at all.  But that was OK - I ended up having a great long run instead.  And Broad Street will be really fun.

After Broad Street, I'm gonna switch gears and focus on short stuff for the summer.  Mile races, with a few 5Ks and maybe something in the 8-10K distance if the weather's reasonable.  I love love love the longer stuff, but I'm not doing myself any favors by cranking out high mileage all summer, as much as I would love to do so.  Just focus on quick short stuff for the spring/summer, then take another break, and then start building mileage again in the fall. 

In other news, Brian decided to pay tribute to my everygrowing ego with a custom built water bottle - forever documenting a silly post race pose.  She-Hulk - eat your heart out.

I loved this when he surprised me with it. 
And of course, I went to fill it up right away.
Only to be informed that it was for display, not for drinking. 
Silly me.  So now it's enshrined on my shelf.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 60 minutes of easy pool-running for “6 miles” followed by injury prevention work and some strength training.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  12.5 miles easy (7:59) plus drills and strides, followed by lower body injury prevention work; foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 9.5 miles easy (8:04 pace), followed by yoga.   Later did another 5.5 miles (7:54 pace).  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 40 minutes of easy pool-running for “4 miles" plus 1200 yards of swimming breathing drills, followed by injury prevention work and upperbody strength training   Foam-rolling at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 12.5 miles, including a workout of 3200m (12:32 - 6:16/6:16), 1600 (6:02), 800 (2:52) and then 2x200 (each in 38).  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes shakeout pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 12 miles easy (8:07 pace).  Foam-rolling, injury prevention work, and upperbody/core strengthtraining in the afternoon.

Sunday:   In the morning, 14 miles as a progressive run, split as first 3 at 8:34, next 4 at 7:52, next 3.5 at 7:33, next 2.5 at 7:00, last mile at 6:20. Overall pace 7:41.  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes shakeout pool-running. Yoga and foam-rolling in the afternoon.

Training log - Week ending 4/21/13

This week was 43 miles of “real running” plus 15 “miles” pool running and 2000 yards swimming -- training log is here.   

Interesting week.   I did my first interval workout back, and it went fairly well.  A bit slower than my norm, but that's obviously not a surprise - if we kept our fitness when not doing intervals, there wouldn't be much reason to do intervals...  It'll be a few weeks before I'm running with my regular group, but I'll get there.  Raced a 10K on Sunday, and the result was much the same.  I'm not totally fit, but not in bad shape.

Also an interesting observation.   Last week I backed my car (actually an SUV) into a pole, resulting in a lengthy body shop stay for the car.  Fortunately, I have a generous sig other, who lent me one of his cars (yes, he has cars.  He's one of those - a car person).  My car is an SUV, the loaner was a sedan.

Around the same time, I started getting another re-occurence of my left piriformis issue - the same one that bugged me on Shamrock race weekend, the same one that I've experienced after other car rides.  I kept going in for massages and ART to get it released, kept foam rolling, kept stretching.  But it kept coming back.  And every time I drove more than a mile, my left hamstring cramped.

Eventually, the lightbulb went off (confirmed by massage guy and ART guy) - the CAR was causing the issue.  Specifically, the way I sit.  I sit much more upright in my own car - the seat is higher so my knees are at a tighter angle, and the seat's also more vertical.  But when I sit or drive in a sedan, the seat is lower, and the overall position more reclined.  Hip at a wider angle, legs stretched out in front.  And something about that position drives my piriformis nuts, in turn making my whole left leg go wonky.

Got my car back on Friday, drove it all weekend, leg felt fine.  I did ride in a cab on Sunday briefly, but the cab was a van, not a sedan, and I also made a point to sit more vertically, with my knees up (of course, I can't drive like that).  No major twinges.  So mystery solved.

Just means I gotta give a lot of thought next time I go car shopping.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 60 minutes of easy pool-running for “6 miles” plus upper body and core strengthwork.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  11.5 miles including an interval workout of 400, 800, 2x1200, 800, 400; split 89, 2:56, 4:26, 4:24, 2:51, 80.  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes shakeout pool-running. Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 9 miles very easy (8:36 pace) followed by yoga.  Later did another 5 miles easy (7:53 pace).  Foam rolling at night.

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

Friday:  In the morning, 8 miles, including a mile pick-up (6:17). Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 2000 yards swimming breathing drills.  Foam-rolling at night.

Sunday:   In the morning, 3 mile warm-up, and then 10K race in 39:15.  20 minutes shakeout pool-running in the afternoon; yoga and foam rolling at night.

Race Report: Pikes Peek, 4/21/13

I ran the Pikes Peek 10K this morning, finishing in a time of 39:15.  I'm pretty happy with this one, though it hurt like heck at the time.

A lot of times, when awaiting the race start, people will ask me what time I'm shooting to run.  My answer's always the same:  I don't know.  And I really don't.  I train and race best when I shoot for effort levels, rather than times.  So, I know that I'm going to run 10K race effort for 6.21 miles, but I don't know what time that will end up being.

But usually, I at least have some idea approximately where I'll be.  I know whether I'll be closer to 19 minutes or 20 minutes for the 5K, for example.  But for today's race, I didn't even know that.  I've done a total of two bits of fast running since my marathon (and post marathon break) - one a set of tempo intervals, the other a set of normal track intervals.  Both went surprisingly well.  But there's a difference between workouts and races.  One is individual pieces, the other is the completed puzzle.

But what the heck - how better to find out where I am then to race.  And I've really missed racing.  So, I jumped into Pike's Peek - a big local 10K with a net downhill that's notoriously fast.  The weather predictions of chill with a tailwind?  A plus.

Of course, I knew this might be a bit..uncomfortable.  First workouts after a break are often a bit of a shock to the system, and first races back moreso.  But, the best way to remove a bandaid is to rip it off.

So I did.  Drove myself up to Rockville to park at the finish, and then grabbed a cab to the start (this worked wonderfully well, BTW).  Warmed-up, handed my throwaway top to my coach (just because I'm willing to toss it doesn't mean I won't try to save it for next race), said hi to friends, and then we started.

***

This race always goes out very fast.  It's notorious as a very fast course, but I think that does a lot of people wrong - they buy into the hype, start like bats out of hell because they think they're supposed to, and then fall apart half way through the race.

This is a very fast race, but it's not an easy race.  It's net downhill but it does have some hills, which are unforgiving to those in oxygen debt.  The trick to running this race well is to not think of it as a fast course.  Race it like you would any other moderately hilly 10K, and you'll do really well, assisted by the ~190 foot net drop. 

Keeping this in mind, I made sure to stay patient especially through the first 2 miles.  Patient, relaxed - that was pretty much the extent of my race plan, but especially from the gun.

And that was how I ran it.  Relaxed, running hard but never rushing, and trying to keep as even an effort as possible, which meant slowing a bit on the uphills, and then catching people on the downhills.   I had the benefit of many teammates cheering, especially in the first few miles.  That was helpful, because I was able to wave and fist pump at them.  I don't do the friendly wave thing for them, but for me - I've learned that if I can't wave at friends in the first half of a race, I'm going out too hard, and need to correct.  It's a helpful metric.

Even so, this was a tough race for me.  Nothing but easy running tends to make one a bit soft - unused to the pain of hard racing.  Burning lungs was something I haven't felt in quite some time.  The moderate uphills hurt, frankly.  I tend to run best when I run a steady progressive type of effort - opening up a bit more each mile.  Hills, even when I try to do even effort, do result in more of a surge/recovery type pacing - not my favorite thing.  But I dealt.  Like you do when ripping off a bandaid.

***

It's funny, the thoughts that run through your head when racing - the small bits of negativity and unhelpful suggestions that pop up - sometimes in the most amusing ways.  To explain in more detail, the race course for Pike's Peek winds down the Rockville Pike - not too far from where I grew up.  Rockville Pike is basically a litany of strip malls, packed full of places I stopped by as a child or teenager (or, occasionally, as an adult).  The car wash, the office for my accountant, the Mexican restaurant that we went to when I was a kid, the David's Bridal where I bought my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding - they're all there.  Leading to repeated mental detours like the following:

"Oh look - there's where the comic book store is, I think.  Why don't I stop running and see what they have."

Um....no.  You have a race to finish first (plus, it's Sunday before 9:00 am, no way they're open).  I redirected, and focused on relaxing my way up the next hill.

***

Sure enough, the race hurt more the further I got.  Racing at an effort higher than your lactate threshold is a completely different beast from cruising below that level.  About mile 4, I got the weirdest nostalgia ever: "y'know, if this was a marathon and I had two miles to go, life would be a lot more pleasant right now."  We'll file that under other weird racing thoughts - I dunno as anyone would think that's a rational statement.  On the other hand, I don't recall wishing I was racing a 10K during my last marathon.

So, relaxed again, embraced the burn, and kept on.  By now, people were starting to noticeably slow - that fact helped distract from the pain.  Passing is always fun. 

As we got closer to the finish, more and more people started screaming at me to "kick" - I was tempted, but then remembered that I kick best when I don't push, but just relax.  It was an effort, but instead of pumping my arms and legs harder, I just tried to release as much tension as possible.  And it worked once more, as I flowed strong to the finish.

Crossed the finish smoothly, but completely spent and staggering.  No doubt I left it all out there.   And fitness wise?  Both physically and mentally, I'm in decent shape.  I ran 39:15 - exactly the same time I ran last year.  Given where I am in my training right now, I'll take this as excellent.  And mentally, I may not have run a race in some time, but I executed this one very well - good pacing, stayed relaxed, confident, and focused.  Not bad at all.

Splits ended up being 6:18, 6:18, 6:22, 6:21, 6:24, and then 7:30 for the last 1.21 (6:12 pace).   It doesn't look like it was negatively split here, but I believe that effort-wise, it was.  Given the uphill/downhill nature of the course, splits don't always reflect the effort level.

Other notes:

• Got second in my age group (also, just like last year).  That's a $50 check.  Yay for races that pay for themselves, and then some.
• Weather was awesome for the most part - temperature was in the low 40s - perfect for racing.   We had a tailwind for the most part, though I could swear we had a few gusts of a decent head wind at some points on course.  In particular, I remember one or two times where I ducked behind someone else.  Not sure if anyone else remembers this - I got a crazy look or two when I mentioned this.  Maybe just me.
• In the morning, got to White Flint at 6:40 am and met my cab there.  The cab ride to the start took 15 minutes.  I've decided this is the way to do it - so nice to have my car at the finish so I could go run errands right after the race.
• Bib pick-up was at the White Flint mall, in the food court known as "The Eatery."  If running down Rockville Pike was an exercise in nostalgia, bib pick-up was a step beyond.  The Eatery is where my mom used to take me to lunch way back when,  like when I was 6 or 7 (and I don't think I've been back there much since).  It doesn't look at all similar to how I remember it.  But a few decades does that to us all.
• Pollen was bad today.  Damn trees stop having sex.

Human

What got me first was that it was the families and friends that were targeted.

Finishing a hard race is great, but the moment that stands out is not the finish line, but the aftermath.  When you turn to your right and see your boyfriend waving at you with a grin, or your friends come to hug.

Racing is selfish, I do it for myself.  Cheering, being there - that's different.  People do that because they care for others.

And they were targeted.  And that makes me feel small and sick for having put my friends and loved ones at risk. 

But then the queasiness compounds.  I understand that events like this aren't unknown in other areas of the world - a relatively small bomb that killed two and maimed ~100 might make the evening news if it happened in Mali.  Or maybe not.   But this bomb, during a marathon, is the intersection of first and third world issues.  A bit of reality brought to my Facebook doorstep.  And I feel horrible and numb, not about this, but about the other bombings that I've barely spared a thought for.  Because they didn't happen to people like me.

And I know that in a few days, I'll go back to my normal world.  Because I'm human, and humans can only process so much.

My friends who ran Boston have lost something small but large.  A great marathon is something that is yours, to savor and enjoy.  Bombings, attacks, terrorism - those never belong to those directly affected, but become poli-social Frisbees.  I was in downtown DC during 9/11, right next to the FBI building.  Over a decade later, I bypass social media each September 11th.  Because I'm done with my memories and want to move on, while those who were further away focus on it with high emotion.  9/11 now belongs to them, not to me.

That's how it will now be for my friends who ran Boston.  No race reports.  The shock will pass, and then they'll be done with it.  Even as their marathon experience becomes something much larger and political and retweeted and speechified and no longer theirs.  The media (social included) can exercise eminent domain, and here's the best example of it.

All of us who weren't there will discuss ad infinitum, as if we knew what it was like.  But we don't.  There's no way we could.  And each time I rehash what happened in Boston today (even by this post), I'm complicit.  I'm contributing to my friends' stolen experience, their loss.  But I'm human you see.  And so I continue.

And it also seems silly, to regret that friends had their marathon experience tainted, stolen.  When so many others lost so much more.  And so much that is so much worse happens everyday, to people that aren't like me.  But I'm human, and I focus on what I can understand.

When you race, you learn about your physical and mental limits.  But today I've (re-)learned about the many limits of human nature, both my own and others.  It's not a good feeling.

But I'll eventually forget about those limits, again.  Because I'm human.

Training log - Week ending 4/14/13

This week was 59 miles of “real running” plus 15 “miles” pool running and 1000 yards swimming -- training log is here.  

Started back to workouts this week, with a tempo on Friday.  I'm out of shape, but I knew that.  And I'm not as out of shape as I feared, and in better condition then I was when I started the Shamrock training cycle, so yay.

I'm racing Pike's Peek 10K this coming weekend.  It's a ludicrously fast downhill course; be interesting to see what I run, given my lack of workouts.  I'm not fit right now, but I've never let that keep me from racing.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 60 minutes of easy pool-running for “6 miles” followed by injury prevention work and some strength training.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  10.5 miles easy (7:58) followed by lower body injury prevention work; foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 8 miles very easy (9:00 pace), followed by yoga.   Later did another 4 miles (7:34 pace - apparently I felt too good).  Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 50 minutes of easy pool-running for “5 miles" plus 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills, followed by injury prevention work and upperbody strength training   Foam-rolling at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 11 miles, including tempo intervals of 2x3200m (800m jog)  Splits were 12:52 (6:27/6:25) and 12:48 (6:28/6:20).  This workout notable for the thunderstorm that hit during it.  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes shakeout pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 11 miles easy (7:51 pace).  Foam-rolling, injury prevention work, and upperbody/core strengthtraining in the afternoon.

Sunday:   In the morning, 14 miles as a progressive run, split as first 2.5 at 8:56, next 4 at 8:05, next 3 at 7:33, last 4.5 at 7:00 pace. Overall pace 7:46.  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes shakeout pool-running. Yoga and foam-rolling in the afternoon.

Training log - Week ending 4/7/13

This week was 52 miles of “real running” plus 11.5 “miles” pool running and 1000 yards swimming -- training log is here.  

Final week of marathon recovery.  Or as I like to call it, the "penalty box" - running a long race has a price - three weeks of sitting on the sidelines.  But I'm almost free.

I made good use of the downtime by moving this week (not far, just from DC to Arlington, VA).  And even though I was pretty free with the checkbook on this one, paying others to do the heavy lifting, I still feel physically tired.  Placing books on shelves is surprisingly draining.

I also belly flopped while running on Weds.  Tripped over a rock while jogging in the dark on the towpath.  Didn't feel like much at the time, but the results were notable.

I get to start workouts again this coming Friday.  Psyched.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 45 minutes of easy pool-running for “4.5 miles” plus 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  8.5 miles aerobic (7:51) followed by upper body and core strengthwork in the morning; foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 8 miles very easy (9:22 pace), with bonus belly flop, followed by yoga.   Moved in the afternoon.  Massage at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 70 minutes of easy pool-running for “7 miles."   Foam-rolling at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 9 miles aerobic (7:44 pace average, last two miles at about 7:05) followed by yoga. Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 11.5 miles easy (8:12 pace).  Foam-rolling, injury prevention work, and core strengthtraining in the afternoon.

Sunday:   In the morning, 15 miles, including pacing a 10 mile race at 7:27 pace, followed by yoga.  Foam rolling at night.

(non) Race Report; Cherry Blossom 10 miler, April 7, 2013.

I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 miler yesterday, finishing in a time of 1:14:24.

This was a first for me.  I've run races and raced them all out, peaking for them.  I've raced when I've known I wasn't in the best of shape or have been in the middle of a training cycle, but gave my best anyway.  I've used races as substitutes for workouts - running a moderate to hard effort while working on some aspect of my own running. But this was the first time I've done none of the above.

So why did I run Cherry Blossom?  Well, I LOVE this race. Even though I was running Shamrock Marathon this year, which precluded a 10 mile race three weeks later, I registered.  Just in case something happened at Shamrock - a DNF or DNS.   Having Cherry Blossom as a back-up of sorts was comforting.  And I couldn't bear the thought of missing it entirely.

And then, of course, Shamrock went well.  Which was wonderful.  But the price of a good marathon is the races you have to sit out before and after - no workouts or races for 3 weeks post marathon.  My coach OK'd running Cherry Blossom as long as I didn't run it hard, so that was what I'd do.  It'd be new and different.

Even so, I needed something to do. It will shock no one to know that I'm a bit purpose driven - just jogging the race didn't sound like much fun.  And I really don't like cherry blossoms - too much pollen.  So when I mentioned to my friend Cheryl that I was probably going to run in the 1:15-1:20 range, and she invited me to run with a group of teammates around the 1:15 range, I was psyched.  I had an objective.

***

It was a bit weird to do a race/non-race.  Because I wasn't racing, I opted to leave my lucky red skulls headband at home, and also to skip my lucky black nail polish.  Clothing wise, I dressed as I would for an easy to moderate run, rather than a race - wearing my Capital Area Runners longsleeve shirt in a race for the first time.  I also donned red compression socks, just to complete the red cheerleader ensemble.

I may have been a bit too chill, as I also left my number on my fridge, and had to go back and get it.  Yup, different mentality.

But finally I was assembled, and drove to a spot about 2.5 miles from the start, before jogging over.  Talked to friends, did a few drills (not because I needed to, but because I'm trying to do them a few times a week) and found the group I'd be running with - Cheryl, Allison, Patricia, and Stephanie.    We chatted some about race plans - they wanted to start at 7:40, then build a bit, possibly/hopefully finishing with 7:00 at the end.  We also chatted about the weather - the temps were perfect, but it was a bit breezy - I told them that anyone who was near me at Hains Point should use me as a windblock.

Then we crowded into our corral (I also saw my friends Greg, Elizabeth, Madeline, and Malissa in the corral), socialized, and the race started.

***

It was a bit odd, trying to start the race at a specific pace.   Or even focusing on pace at all.  For a while now, I've been running everything - easy runs, workouts, and races - exclusively off of perceived effort.  When I do a workout, I do 8x800 at "800m rep feel" not "2:xx."  I know how starting a 10 mile should feel; shooting for a pace rather than a feel was a bit foreign to me.  Plus all my runs for the last few weeks have been easy (with the one exception of 2 miles at marathon pace on Friday morning when I realized I was going to be late to yoga *whistles*).  So I flicked my Garmin screen to show distance and time, to give me some guidance.  [I don't trust the instant pace readings at all; but I figure quarter mile splits on it aren't too bad, generally.]

And that was how I ran.  I ended up a second or two ahead of the group of teammates, which I preferred - that way if I was massively screwing up my attempt to hit 7:40, I hadn't sucked them out.  They could use me as a guidepost, but were still able to do their own thing.

We came through the first mile in 7:36 - a little fast, but hopefully not so much that damage had been done.  Plus they were a second or two behind, which put them closer to 7:40.  From then on, I tried to hold a steady effort, continually looking behind me to see how near or far the group was.

It was easily the most looking around I have ever done in a race.  Normally, when I race, I get tunnel vision.  I'm focused on a) my effort and b) the shortest/easiest path between two points.  Not this time.  I was looking to each side to see friends, to the back to see how the group was doing (the further we got into the race, the more I let them set the pace, since I figured they had a feel), to the front to see if any issues were coming up.  When we hit turnaround points (there are two) I'd swing way wide to make sure I didn't get in the way of anyone who was racing.  I really didn't care if I ran extra distance.  It was just a different mentality.

***

At the second turnaround, I noted that the group had split up a bit, with Stephanie pulling ahead.  Since the group still had each other to work with, I decided to help Stephanie as I could - essentially running a bit ahead of her to give her something to focus on while trying to (figuratively) punch holes in large groups of runners ahead so that she wasn't blocked.  When we hit Hains Point, a bit of a head wind hit us, and I tried to find the best place to position myself to block the wind for her.  At some point though, we got separated, and I was simply running on my own.  It felt surreal, to be running at a moderate pace while others around me fought their own personal battles in the final miles of their races.  It felt a bit mean, to be honest, though I'm not sure why that's the case.

And then I noted another member of our group, Patricia, behind me.  I "led" her some more, pushing through crowds.  I would have loved to have done more, but the truth is that you can never run a race for someone else.  In the end, it's all them.

But when we hit mile 9, Patricia shouted to me "7 minutes."  I turned back towards her.

"You want a 7 minute mile?"

"Yes!"

Yay!  This, I could do.  After all the marathon training, 7:00 and I were BFF.  I found that familiar groove, and locked in.  All the way up the final hill and down the stretch to the finish (the last mile ended up being 6:58 on my watch, so a little fast, but Patricia didn't seem to mind).  Crossed the finish, and turned to cheer my teammates in. 

I felt satisfied, though also a bit wistful.  When you cross the finish line having given your optimal effort, it's a great feeling that more than balances any discomfort you felt while racing.  It's addictive.  I didn't get my hit at Cherry Blossom - while everyone around me was imbibing in the racer's high, I was a designated driver.   But still, a fun day overall.  And great to see so many of my teammates have great races, and to have been involved in some small way in Patricia's massive PR.

But yeah, I really can't wait to race again.  It's been way too long.  Way too long.


Other stuff:  for posterity - splits ended up being 7:36, 7:35, 7:10, 7:24, 7:20, 7:31, 7:43, 7:42, 7:25, 6:58.

Training log - Week ending 3/31/13

This week was 37 miles of “real running” plus 8 “miles” pool running and 1000 yards swimming -- training log is here.  

Second week of recovery post-marathon, and starting to rebuild the miles.  I also did a lot of yoga – basically as a way to rebuild my chassis and prepare for a return to normal running volume.

And also moving (not far, just 5 miles or so).  Packing and sorting through possessions is occupying the time that I would normally spend on stuff like blogging, reading, and other fun stuff.  This blog will return to normal activity in the future.  After I’ve unpacked.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 40 minutes of easy pool-running for “4 miles” plus upper body and core strengthwork.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  4.5 miles easy (8:14) followed by yoga in the morning; foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 7 miles very easy (8:43 pace) followed by yoga.   Foam rolling at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 40 minutes of easy pool-running for “4 miles” plus 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills, followed by upper body strength training and some injury prevention work.   Foam-rolling at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 8 miles easy (7:53 pace) followed by yoga. Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 5.5 miles easy (7:55 pace).  Foam-rolling, injury prevention work, and core strengthtraining in the afternoon.

Sunday:   In the morning, 12 miles easy (8:03 pace) followed by yoga.  Foam rolling at night.