Training log - Week ending 1/11/2015

This week was 66 miles of running and 3000 yards of swimming  -- training log is here.

Surprisingly, this ended up being a solid week of training.  Surprising because of the weather we had - a snowstorm on Tuesday morning was responsible for cancelling my team's hill workout on Tuesday, and also messing up many of the local running routes through the rest of the week.  A blast of abnormally cold weather (single digits aren't normal for DC, even in January) added some more complexity.


Fear not, though, intrepid reader.  In DC, we have a great resource - the Whitehurst Freeway. 
We don't run on the freeway itself, but this elevated highway has another road directly under it - Water Street - which is always free of snow and ice.  So that's where we run when nowhere else is open. 

Runs under the Whitehurst are always time/effort based, because there's no good way to assess distance/pace.  Garmins don't get good signal under it, and you have to vary your route enough with each lap (dodging cars, other runners, pot holes) that you can't just treat it like a trail or track.  For myself, when doing easy runs I just assume that every 8:30 minutes is a mile; workouts are done by running between certain landmarks, but focusing on effort and feel.

I spent a lot of time under the Whitehurst this week.  On Tuesday morning I ran there because it was literally the only outside option (I can mentally handle treadmills, but they often seem to aggravate my ankle issues - I think it's the softness of the belt, among other things).  I had initially planned on just running easy on Tuesday, but about 20 minutes into the run I was a) cold, b) lonely and bored, and c) thinking way too much about my recently departed kitty.  So I ended up doing intervals not out of dedication, but rather because intervals would be a warming diversion.

Wednesday we ran some under the Whitehurst as well, though we also explored the sidewalks of DC

What the track looked like
post snow-storm.

(still treacherous in parts).  Thursday I ran on the beautifully cleared trails of Arlington County, but Friday I went back to Georgetown and a cleared waterfront trail for a tempo workout with my team.  I have to admit, I'd much rather do a tempo on the Georgetown waterfront than the track - it was much more visually interesting, and lacked the constant turning of the track. 

By the weekend, the trails of DC were mostly passable (with some bad sections), so we did our long runs "normally," though I ended up having to split my marathon effort section on my Sunday long run into sections, due to the occasional lengthy patch of ice.

Dailies

Monday:   Yoga and some injury prevention/strengthwork; foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  an estimated 11 miles, including a workout under the Whitehurst of 10x~660m (about 2:30-2:50 in time) with 2:00 recoveries. (splits were 2:48, 2:42, 2:41, 2:41, 2:39, 2:35, 2:36, 2:35, 2:36, 2:29).  Followed with lower body strengthwork and injury prevention work, plus 800 yards swimming.  Foam rolling at night

 

Wednesday: 11 miles very easy (9:11 pace), followed by a yoga class. Sports massage at night.

Thursday:   A yoga class followed by 8 miles very easy (9:08).  Foam rolling at night.

Friday:  An estimated 11.5 miles, including a tempo effort workout of a bit over 5 miles (4 laps, with each lap ~1.33 miles).  Splits for the four laps were 9:25, 9:10, 9:05, and 9:08 (but added a bit on to the last lap, so most likely my last lap was actually the fastest).  Followed with lower body strengthwork and injury prevention work, plus 1200 yards swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   In the morning, 10 miles very easy run (8:37) followed by a quick upper body strength/injury prevention workout and some foam rolling.
 

Sunday:  14.5 miles, mostly easy/moderate, but with segments towards the end of ~2.5 miles at 6:59 pace and ~1.5 miles at 7:04 pace, split by about a half mile jogging carefully over ice).  Followed with yoga.  In the afternoon did 1000 yards easy swimming, plus some foam rolling.