S2S Training: Week 12 of 14

Week 12 Theme: Rest & Recovery Focus (Max 1 hr runs)

• Tuesday 4 mi easy
• Wednesday 45 min singletrack
• Friday 3 mi easy
• Weekend 1 hr trail run + long hike

Monday

2.5 mi walking tour

Traveling for work this week in New Orleans, took a walking "Voodoo & Vampires Tour" which was entertaining!

Tuesday

6.3 mi @ 8:56/mi

Morning run along the NOLA Riverfront... middle miles speedy once I got to the riverwalk path and had to dodge unhoused individuals (one who decided he wanted to run along ahead of me for about half a mile). 

Thankfully the time change to Central timezone made a sunrise run feel not quite so early despite being up late last night. 😅

Wednesday & Thursday

Walk and Travel

Two more days in New Orleans for a work trip, no exercise but a good bit of walking around. Return travel on Thursday was mostly walking through airports!

Friday

4.4 mi singletrack

Got in a nice hour at Yo Mama's House this morning after dropping D off at school. This run kind of covers both the singletrack miles from Wednesday and the Friday easy run... not really but it's what I got!

Saturday

6.3 mi @ 9:02/mi

Ran roads in the hurricane! Hurricane Isaias was blowing through all day on Saturday so I went out midday for the hilly loop near my house. Off and on rain and wind gusts made it interesting but overall it was fairly enjoyable!

Sunday

4.7 mi hike

After all the rain yesterday, I figured a waterfall would be pretty impressive so I got the kids out for a walk in the woods. One was much more enthusiastic about it than the other. 😂

Week Summary

✅ Tuesday 4 mi easy - done with extra

✅ Wednesday 45 min singletrack - basically did Friday, not Wednesday

🟨 Friday 3 mi easy - optional so not red, did miles Friday

🟨 Weekend 1 hr trail run + long hike - an hour run but not trail; hike was not long but was a hike

17 miles total this week is exactly where I was supposed to be but man it feels like slacking!!

S2S Training: Week 11 of 14

Week 11 theme: Aerobic Maintenance Block

• Tuesday 5 mi Moderate Hill
• Wednesday ~5 mi (50 min)
• Friday 3 mi Easy
• Saturday 12 mi Trail (2,000 ft gain)
• Weekly total ~25 mi

Monday

1.3 mi ruck 20#

Got a new (to me) bullet ruck 15L in Everglades Camo so had to take it for a spin on the morning pup walk.

2.3 mi trail walk

SCRA trails were busy for the NICA time trial during practice, so Ivy and I stuck with walking back and forth to spectate. She got adorably excited every time D would ride by.

Tuesday

6.6 mi @ 8:56/mi

Another week of early neighborhood loops. Much cooler this time!

Wednesday

1 mi morning walk 

4 mi singletrack (50 min)

Felt very slow and tired this evening. I think the little tastes of fall weather makes the heat more difficult to handle! Ivy and I were both sluggish.

Thursday

45 min work gym

Yay strength!

Friday

4 mi @ 10min/mi

Easy solo miles on the Gold Line - chose to run without the pup since she'd been rather tired and I worried she'd protest.

1.5 mi walks

Lunch walk plus a little exploration with kiddo in the evening at Poinsett Bridge

Saturday

16 mi w/ 2,300 ft vert

Originally planned a 14 mile loop in Dupont with some moderate elevation but felt good and wanted a couple more miles so rounded out 16 miles. Started at Fawn Lake, Reasonover Creek Trail, Airstrip views, ventured up to Bridal Veil Falls, looped Burnt Mountain, crossed Corn Mill Shoals, then looped Fawn Lake at the end. Started sprinkling just at the end but man, this felt great! A little bit of fall color coming in 😍

Sunday

5 mi @ 10:16/mi

Recovery swamp rabbit miles... flat and easy pace.

Weekly Summary

✅Tuesday 5 mi Moderate Hill - exceeded, 10k

✅Wednesday ~5 mi (50 min) - done at 50 mins

✅Friday 3 mi Easy - extra credit at 4 mi

✅Saturday 12 mi Trail (2,000 ft gain) - hit the vert, exceeded miles

Total weekly miles = 35 miles

Definitely went above and beyond, but feeling good and strong - was afraid of being short some miles but now feeling good!

S2S Training: Week 10 of 14

Week 10 Training Theme: Early Taper / Volume Drop (Max 1 hr runs)

6.2 mi Hill Repeats
~5–6 mi (60 min)

Friday 4 mi Easy

Saturday 1 hr Trail Run (~6 mi)

Sunday 1 hr Trail Run or Long Hike

~22–26 mi weekly goal

So this plan was made thinking I didn't have any freedom during the weekend, but it turns out I have Saturday open so I'm going to go for some bigger miles/vert than the plan calls for. 

Monday

3.25 mi @ 11:09/mi pup run

Didn't necessarily need the miles but had to take advantage of some slightly cooler temps and get some pup miles.

Tuesday

6.55 mi @ 9:20/mi

Got in some early loops around the neighborhood because of a crazy upcoming workday. Had not done a really early run from the new house yet but it was an adventure and was super happy to get it done. Was HUMID as all get out though...

Wednesday

5.2 mi 60 minute singletrack

OMG FALL WEATHER!!! Took the pup out during D's practice time and oh what a glorious run we had! The gray windy cool weather all day just set the perfect mood for an evening in the woods.

saw a snek fren

Thursday

40 min work gym

Fiddle farting around in the gym, but I'm sore (the next day) so... I guess it did something.

Friday

2.2 mi @ 12:30/mi

Wanted to attempt a 4 mile run with Ivy but she only could stand for 2 today. I think I wore the poor gal out, even with cooler temps!

2.6 @ 8:55/mi

Finished up the rest of Friday's easy miles on my own at lunch.

Saturday

11 mi trail run w/ 3,900ft elevation

Big morning at Table Rock State Park!

First off, this gloriousness

Goal was to hit the 2 big peaks in a Y-shaped path, and that's exactly what we did! First, ascending Table Rock trail to its end with a beautiful overlook to Stool Mountain. Could not get over how clear it was!

Someone's pants??

Then back along the Ridge Trail to connect over to Pinnacle Mountain. Did a run/walk/fartlek sort of run to break up the uphill death marching and it worked really well!

Felt super strong the entire way, so much different than the last time running here. The weather gets a lot of credit for that!

1.3 mi glow kayak

Paddling under the full moon! Not a lot of distance covered but certainly a fun event.

Sunday

4.5 mi @ 11:09/mi

Recovery run on the SRT fueled by a Waffle House All-Star breakfast. 😂

Week Summary/Review

35 miles run - more than goal!

🟨6.2 mi Hill Repeats - mileage and repeats yes, hilly - not so much

✅Wednesday ~5–6 mi (60 min) singletrack - yesssss

✅Friday 4 mi Easy - good enough

Saturday 1 hr Trail Run (~6 mi)

Sunday 1 hr Trail Run or Long Hike

✅Weekend long miles - soooo happy with this run!

S2S Training: Week 9 of 14

6 weeks to go... scary how quickly it's coming up!

Plan:

• Tuesday 6.2 mi Tempo Climbs
• Wed (Singletrack Z2) 50-60 mins
• Fri 4mi easy road
• Big Saturday Vert Block (16mi / 3,500+)

Monday

3.72mi @ 10:18/mi

Recovery run at the New Groove Run Club 3rd Anniversary! The fun idea was "run with a random object" where we all got to pick something out of a bucket of random things... I ended up with a rubber alligator puppet 😂 Great evening catching up with this crew!

Tuesday

6.3 mi @ 9:18/mi

Hilly midday run for 10k Tuesday... 750ft elevation in 6.3 miles. Somehow ended up doing a progression run?? Unintentional but actually felt pretty good in the overcast and breezy weather. Maybe all these crazy hills and trails are actually working!

Wednesday

Rest day

Switched up rest and singletrack days because... reasons. 

Thursday

40 min strength tranining

Work gym time at lunch - still figuring out how to work more of this into my weekly routine. Seems I'm stuck at about 1x per week. Sigh.

4.84 mi easy singletrack - 60 mins

Headed out to Croft after work and had a lovely golden hour out and back on the Palmetto trail section that runs through part of the park. Still pretty warm out but that golden light before sunset gives hints of fall coming!

Friday

BMW 2-Miler Race = 2.03 mi @ 7:21/mi 

Raced the BMW 2-Miler and while the speed was not where it has been in past years (not surprising) it felt good to race. The part that didn't feel good was how stinking hot it was! Ugh... we'd had a couple of cool-ish mornings this week and it gave me hope. Not today!

Saturday

6.1 mi trail with 1,400ft elevation

Took Ivy out to Jones Gap for a little trail run fun in the woods, and boy she did so great! We first went up the extremely steep and difficult Rainbow Falls trail. I was afraid she wasn't going to go much farther than that, but once we started heading downhill (after a nice splash in the cool waterfall) she perked right back up! We headed up to Jones Gap Falls as well, had another little swim, then back to the car. Super proud of how she did on this run!

7.7 mi with 1,400 ft elevation

Part two of the day's runs (sans pup) I headed to Paris Mountain. It was hot, it was afternoon, my body was willing(ish) but the brain did. not. want. to run more. I had a pity party, ate some snacks, and finally perked up for the second hour of running. With about 30 minutes to go, the rumbles in the distance turned into an absolute downpour but somehow still shining sun?? It was ridiculous but splashing through the huge puddles made the whole run worthwhile. 

Drenched!

Double complete rainbows over Paris Mtn during a post-run grocery trip!

Sunday

mostly rest... yardwork

Week Recap

✅ Tuesday 6.2 mi Tempo Climbs - calling this one done

✅ Wed (Singletrack Z2) 50-60 mins - yes but on Thursday

✅ Fri 4mi easy road - calling this one green with the race push

🟨 Big Saturday Vert Block (16mi / 3,500+) - really wasn't far off on this one but it wasn't exactly as prescribed either, so giving it a yellow.

About 32 miles for the week.

Feeling pretty strong although the struggles at Paris Mtn had me worried/in my head a lot and questioning my training. Overall though and in hindsight I think I'm on track.