Thursday, February 16, 2012

2/16/12

10mi easy / 74:25

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

2/15/12

10mi uber slow death march / 77:39

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

intervals 2/14/12

AM: 4mi very easy / untimed
PM: 15 min warm-up + 5 x 1K at 5K pace, 600 meter recovery, avg split 3:16.8
Acutely aware of running right on the edge of the abyss during these intervals but, as Coach Daniels says, runners occasionally need to visit the overtrained horizon. Today was one of those days.

Monday, February 13, 2012

recovery day 2/13/12

6mi recovery run / 44min

I logged 37mi in the last three days, and because I'm not fully acclimated to that level of work, this was absolutely a "recovery workout" in the more modern and accurate sense: A routine aerobic session done prior to quality day recovery, with the express purpose of putting that recovery in check.

The purpose wasn't to accelerate my short-term recovery in any way, which is how the term "recovery workout" has frequently been used -- the idea being that an easy session could somehow magically help the body recover. Of course, we now know that is nonsense: Workout stress is workout stress is workout stress. If quick recovery is the goal, don't go running. And that holds true for all of the cross-training twaddle.

The purpose here really was to decelerate my recovery. Sustained recovery is how we get faster. In terms of fitness, the body is always doing one of three things: Improving (recovering from workout stress), holding steady, or declining. So when you are building up to a big race and you sense you are approaching the holding steady phase, you have to beat that shit back into submission.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

2/12/12

16mi LSD / 1:55:50

Saturday, February 11, 2012

2012 ramp-up

first some housekeeping:
2/11/12 - 90 min easy
total for week = 63mi

Been focused on Boston for weeks now but two persistent colds, one in Nov 2011 and another mid-January, put me behind schedule. Base mileage wasn't what I'd hoped for... tomorrow will be the first two hour run of the season. Here is the progression plan:
2/12 - 16mi
2/19 - 18mi
2/26 - 20mi
3/04 - 21mi
3/11 - 13mi
3/18 - New Bedford 1/2 (tentatively)
3/25 - 22mi
4/01 - 22mi (then taper)

Friday, February 10, 2012

2/10/12

15 min warm-up
10K tempo run / 36:45
1mi cool-down

High 40s with a moderate breeze at the start; temp dropped and wind picked up the entire way. But hey it's mid-winter, and I'm getting track work in!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

2/9/12

6mi fartlek / 41:13 --
2mi warm-up + 4x2:20-2:30 surges mixed into easy pace
200 one-leg hops afterwards

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

2/8/12

7mi super slow / 52:10

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

2/7/12

AM: 4mi easy / untimed
PM: 7mi hill workout --
    18:00 easy + 16:00 hill reps + 15:30 easy