Monday - Smithfield/Johnston, RI - 10.1 miles
Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)25 push-ups x2
10 military push-ups x2
AM - 3 miles: Did a short run this morning on the Fidelity footpaths in my New Balance 730s. These are lightweight minimal trainers and I haven't put many miles on 'em. They definitely make me shorten my stride to avoid heel striking, that's for sure. I enjoyed running in them at the time although I really felt it on the downhills. Now, hours later I'm really feeling it in my calves/shins. I'm not sure when I'd ever use these regularly - I'll probably give 'em a shot in a 5k at some point.
PM - 7.1 miles: My shins/ankles were feeling it from this morning's run but I planned to run after work in Johnston while my tires were being rotated. I didn't want to miss it despite the soreness so I laced up the New Balance 890s - so much easier to run in that the 730s. With the 730s I really need to focus on my form, gait and turnover. With the 890s I just run.
Running on the busy roads of Johnston is not my favorite thing so I try to chart courses on the least busy streets away from busy intersections. I discovered a little network of trails nearby which a welcome surprise and then I jumped back on the roads to take a route that involved a goodly hill. I wanted to run at a decent clip but I was surprised when I looked at the Strava later. Three miles under 7 minutes and two just over. A pretty decent pace and it barely felt like work. I think these faster runs are really helpful - I need to push my pace more often.
Tuesday - 0 miles
P90X Legs & Back (60 minutes)Still have that shin/ankle soreness but I was really looking forward to this workout so I soldiered on anyway. Soreness didn't seem to affect L&B and I got a great workout in.
Wednesday - 0 miles
I was going to do Yoga X this morning but I'm still feeling it in my ankles so I decided to take a rest day. Major DOMS again from yesterday's Legs & Back.Thursday - Smithfield/North Kingstown, RI - 12.7 miles
AM - 8.2 miles:: Spring my ass. I drove up to Bryant University, snowflakes a fallin', intent on doing a track workout. There wasn't snow on the track but big pieces of equipment were scattered throughout so I said to hell with it. Plan B: Tempo Run on nearby Log Road. I'd run four miles out then turn around.It didn't start well. I've still got a lot of DOMS from Tuesday's squat/lunge party and my legs felt tired. I also picked up the pace too early, hitting a 6:30 pace 1.5 miles into the run. The next few miles were difficult. Keeping the pace under 7:00 wasn't easy, especially with the hills on Log Rd, and I didn't feel like I was moving very fast or very well.
One I hit the turnaround everything changed immediately. I'm not sure if it was the mental relief of knowing that I was on my way back but suddenly I found fifth gear and the next two miles ticked off in the low 6s. It was pretty easy going the rest of the way though as soon as I began to slow down I felt my body really want to slow down. Apparently it was all or nothing today. A strange run. I definitely need to space P90X Legs & Back farther from Thursday's intense workout. Either that or maybe move the speed/hill stuff to Friday instead.
PM - 4.5 miles: I had time before band practice so I stopped at Rome Point for a short trail run. I was surprised by the environment. It had been snowing on and off all day in Smithfield but it didn't seem to stick much. Down in North Kingstown, it was a different story. Big clumps of wet snow clung to every tree and branch, turning Rome Point into a winter wonderland. It was a pretty splendid place to run. I ran the usual trails and my legs felt pretty good but they were soon worn out after I ran down the beach a ways. Happy to get a second run in today.
Friday - Smithfield, RI - 6.3 miles
Ab Ripper X (15 minutes)20 push-ups x3 / 4 pull-ups x2 / 5 chin-ups x2
I decided to check out some new trails close to work. The first was the Stillwater Trail which is flat, wide and runs along the Stillwater pond. The trail was only a mile long but it was very pleasant with the flowing river alongside. Passed a group of folks with a bunch of dogs several times - I was pleased that their dogs were well behaved and ignored me. Still plenty of crunchy snow on the ground from Tuesday's weather. I suspect this winter will never end.
Then I went over the river (via bridge) to check out the George Washington Picnic Grove. I'm not sure how much picnicin' goes on here - it was all woods and the trails were pretty rough and not maintained. It was slow going at times as I had to navigate a bunch of streams and strain to find the trail. I was wearing my MT20s and the crunchy snow was beginning to take its toll on my calves by the end. Not a great area but I may return to see if I can find trails to connect it to Bryant.
Saturday - 0 miles
P90X Yoga X (85 minutes)No running but plenty of activity. Chainsawed a bunch of wood, then split and stacked it. Followed it up with Yoga X with my wife. Looking forward to an early long run in Burlingame.
Sunday - Charlestown, RI - 15 miles
6:30 AM group run in Burlingame with Jonny, Mike G, Sandals and and older gentleman named John. The plan was to take our time doing a bunch of easy miles and then do 8 miles at 50k pace. We first checked out a dirt road that leads to Schoolhouse Pond. I hadn't been out here since last fall and the pine forest destruction was massive. Then we entered Burlingame proper. Mike & Jonny showed me the Secret Trail (luckily they decided I didn't need to take the blood oath of secrecy.) Jumped on Vin Gormley briefly before taking Sammy C's back to the Sammy C/Schoolhouse Pond trail intersection. Throughout the run we had to duck under race markers and share the trail with groups of mountain bikers as there was a big time trial event going on at 9 AM. Nice seeing so much activity in the woods.Back at the intersection, John detected that insanity was about to ensue and wisely headed home. The rest of us took Schoolhouse Pond trail towards VG - after a few minutes of easy pace we began the fast portion of our run. Galoob took off immediately and was soon gone. Jonny and Aaron were ahead of me and I was content to run at a pace which felt like work. I was probably moving faster than I will for the TARC 50k (7:30-7:40 range) but I think I had the spirit of the workout in mind (that is, putting in a hard trail effort after already logging a bunch of miles in the woods.)
We ran Vin Gormley counterclockwise for four miles then turned around and headed back to the intersection. I caught up with Aaron on the way back and together we pushed through the last couple miles. Galoob was already gone by the time I finished (he was helping out with the bike race) and it was a short distance back to the car. I considered tacking on another mile to hit a new weekly mileage PR but my feet were aching and I thought better of it - a new PR will come in good time. A fun run that increased my anticipation for next Saturday's 1/2 marathon in Big River!
No comments:
Post a Comment