Training log - Week ending 2/15/15

This week was 70 miles of running, 3 "miles" of pool-running and 4000 yards of swimming  -- training log is here.

And....winter keeps trying to screw with our training.  Of course, the weather we're dealing with in the mid-Atlantic is NOTHING like what people in the upper midwest and northeast are suffering through, but it's still somewhat challenging.

Despite the weather, I managed to have a decent week.  Tuesday morning's track workout was in a balmy 30 degrees - relatively warm, but still cold enough for the track to be slightly slick.  I wore my Mizuno Hitogamis for the workout, which turned out to be a poor choice - I never was able to get a good grip on the track.  (right now I'm running in both Adidas and Mizuno shoes, and the Adidas shoes consistently seem to have MUCH better traction in slick conditions).

This was actually a good thing, though - concerns about slipping kept me from running the workout too fast - instead I hit the right effort level and left feeling really good about it.  Of course, my hamstrings were also pretty tight that afternoon and the next day, but a massage and some careful running helped those.

By Friday, temps had dropped back down into the mid-teens - perfect for tempo (or not).  Gusty winds that pushed us all over the place added a bit of challenge.  I still had a pretty good workout - after a careful start I hit a steady rhythm and just cruised, swapping off the lead every 3 laps with a friend.  I did note that in these super cold temps, I need to be extra careful to start the tempo off slow (I did the first two laps at marathon pace before dropping the pace down) and also to get an adequate warm-up (at least 30 minutes jogging for me when it's this cold).  It's challenging, though - when it's really cold is both when I most need a lengthy warm-up and when I most procrastinate actually getting out there.

This looks so fun.
I wish I could have done it.

Since she hadn't won yet, Mother Nature threw a mean Sunday at us.  Temperatures were forecast to be in the single digits, with winds from the northwest at 30-40mph sustained, with gusts to 50 or more.  Of course, the DC area also has a very long trail - the W&OD - that runs slightly downhill from northwest to southeast.  And the newly opened Metro Silver Line had a station very close to the W&OD, and about 16 miles from another metro station near my home.  So I hatched a brilliant plan to ride the Silver Line up to Reston and then enjoy 16 miles downhill with a 30-40 mph tailwind.

But Mother Nature wasn't to be denied - a Saturday night snow squall resulted in icy unsafe trails, so I abandoned this plan in favor of an easy double under the Whitehurst freeway.  *Sigh*.  It was neither as fun or as productive as a 16 mile progression, but at least it was something.  And that's part of winter training, I guess - taking advantage of the good days and being flexible about the bad.

Supposedly more tough weather is on the way for this week.  I'm stocking up on my sense of humor right now.

Dailies

Monday:   3 "miles" easy pool-running, some upperbody strengthwork and injury prevention work, and yoga; foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  11 miles, including a descending stair workout of 2000, 1600, 1200, 800, 400 (8:03, 6:16, 4:39, 3:01, 1:25), followed by some injury prevention work and 1800 yards easy swimming.  Sport massage at night.

Wednesday: 12 miles very easy (8:51), followed by a yoga class.   Foam rolling at night

Thursday:   4 miles very easy (8:42), followed by a yoga class and then 5 miles very easy (8:30) home, plus some drills and strides, and some upperbody strengthwork and injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Friday:  11 miles, including a tempo workout of 6400m (~4 miles) in 26:39 (6:48/6:39/6:37/6:35) followed by injury prevention work and 1500 yards easy swimming.  Foam rolling at night.

Saturday:   11 miles easy (8:32), followed by drills and strides, and upper body strengthwork/injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Sunday:  9.5 miles very easy (8:46) mostly under the Whitehurst.  Followed with a yoga class and then headed back out for another 6.5 under the Whitehurst (9:02 pace).  Followed with some injury prevention work and then 700 yards quick shakeout swimming.  Foam rolling at night.