Cloudland Canyon 50k Training (Week 10 of 18)

Week beginning thoughts: I need to stretch more.

Goals: 40-45 mpw, split long run 12 + 12

Monday
Planned: strength
Did: 45 min strength
Not as much enthusiasm behind today's workout, but got it done. I think everything (body and mind) is tired from the weekend's hard efforts!

Tuesday
Planned: 8+ mi
Did: 9.24 mi @ 8:22/mi avg
Yesssssss this mileage! I started out at 5 again, got in close to 3 miles before meeting up with one other runner buddy for some track time. Did a ladder workout and felt pretty good. Again not quite the top speeds on shorter distances that I feel like I should be able to do, but I have to remind myself that if I've already got 5-6 miles on my legs, I shouldn't expect to bust out a sub-6 pace, even on a 400.
400 - 1:38
800 - 3:26
1200 - 5:08
800 - 3:25
400 - 1:33


Wednesday
Planned: 5-6 mi trail
Did: 5.37 mi @ 8:42/mi
Oh man, the difference one week and 25 degrees makes! Felt SO GOOD out there, the miles just flew by. Definitely no walking breaks today. woooo!

Thursday
Planned: tempo ?
Did: 6.01 mi @ 8:04/mi avg
2x2mi on the treadmill this morning... I thought this would drag by but honestly I was surprised how quickly the miles ticked off and even though I was running sub-7:30 pace for 2 miles, it felt easy.

Friday
Planned: rest or yoga
Did: rest

Saturday
Planned: GE Cross-Country 6k + extra
Did: 3.87 + 3.79 + 4.15 = 11.81 mi 
Had a race this morning (final Corporate Shield race of the season!) and decided to get there early, do a loop of the course before the race, then do the race, then do another loop after I'd finished. It worked out pretty well! I really liked getting a preview of the course since it's a new location for the race this year. I saw some deer and enjoyed beautiful sunset views around the Hartness Nature Preserve - usually it's a sub-division closed to the public, but we were allowed in for the race.

  

  

Loop 1 = 3.87 mi @ 9:18/mi

Got back to the start area for the team photo, then we were ready to race!

#team

I wasn't sure what sort of expectations to set... I'm usually not all that fast on a cross-country course (sub-9 pace for sure, but probably somewhere in the 8:xx/mi pace). We set off and I wanted to try to get in the top 3 women for the Milliken team. I knew I wouldn't keep up with the fastest one, but I kept pace with the other fast female. I was in front of her from about Mile 1 to ~.5 mile from the finish, and she passed me on the final stretch, but we were close enough that I did manage to place in the top 3 for the fast female team!

Finish result = 3.79 mi @ 7:38/mi avg

After hanging out at the finish for a while I set off for loop #3. I took an easy pace and enjoyed the quiet course all to myself. Felt like I could have kept going for a while but with nobody else around and the neighborhood technically being "closed" I decided to cut it and head out.

Final loop = 4.15 mi @ 9:53/mi avg


Sunday
Planned: 12 mi stroller run
Did: 12.14 mi @ 9:25/mi avg
Morning rain pushed this run to the afternoon, but ended up being great anyway. D and I ran from Furman on the Swamp Rabbit up to TR then came back and took a long loop through campus. Followed him for another ~ mile walk as he rode his bike when we were done.




Weekly total = 44.57 mpw
Woo hoo! I didn't realize how close to 45 I was this week... wow. Feeling great and strong. I do still need to stretch more. I found a lacrosse ball in our basement (why?) that is great for rolling out some tough spots in my glutes and lower back. Looking forward to another good week.