This week was 56 miles of running, 17 "miles" of pool-running, and 2000 yards of swimming. Training log is here.
Week 3 of recovery. I started feeling better this week - fresher and more perky. I'm sure a lot of it resulted from upping my mileage back to "my usual." Having work slow down to a crawl by the end of the week didn't hurt either.
I also started to reintroduce some intensity - adding in strides after each easy run (I usually do strides post-run, but avoid them for the first few runs post-break).
On Friday I headed to Georgetown for my traditional post-break mini-workout - repetitions up a short hill (takes me about 60-70 seconds to get to the top, followed by a relaxed and lengthy jog (about two and a half minutes) looping back to the bottom.
I like this workout as a "bridge" between easy running and returning to workouts. It's reminiscent of the hill workouts my coach has us do (2 minutes up, 60 second recovery, 30 second downhill stride, 60 second recovery), but is less demanding. I'm only running uphill for half as long, and the recovery is much longer, and lacks the downhill stride. And the uphill nature reminds me of what good running form should feel like - very helpful, since I've done nothing except shuffle since CIM.
Friday's half-a-workout went well, with no soreness after, which let me know that I was fine to start working out again. So this coming week, I'm going to rejoin my team's hill workouts, though I'll skip the track for another week or two in favor of some relaxed faster running on the roads.
At this point in my season (which is really between seasons) I want to make sure not to avoid fast running - my humble opinion is that the older we get, the more important it is to regularly incorporate faster running on a regular basis - a use-it-or-lose-it thing. 5-6 weeks of just easy running would be a very bad idea.
At the same time, I feel like there's no need for the intensity of track workouts right now. Sticking to hills and aerobic running on the roads (nothing faster than 10K pace) should work well through the end of the year.. I may hop into a race on New Years eve for the heck of it - I won't decide until much closer to the race, when I have a better idea what the forecast will be.
Dailies:
Monday: yoga and 8.5 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Tuesday: 6.5 miles very easy (9:18) followed by upper body weights/core; later another 3.5 miles (8:47). Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 6 miles very easy (9:36), yoga, and then another 5 miles very easy (9:00). Sports massage in the evening.
Thursday: Upper body weights/core and 8.5 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 12 miles, including 8 short hill reps (run uphill for 60-70 seconds, with 2:30 jogging recovery back to the bottom). Followed with leg strengthwork and 1000 yards of swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 10 miles easy (8:55) and upper body weights/core, plus some DIY yoga. Foam rolling at night.
Sunday: 12.5 miles progressive, split as the first 5 averaging 9:00 pace, the next 4 averaging 7:48, and then last 3.5 averaging 7:07 pace. Followed up with leg strengthwork/injury prevention work and 1000 yards of swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Nice week! Sounds like you are recovered from the race and ready to "hit the ground running" in the new year!
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