Week #17: toughen up

Summary for week ending Sunday, April 24, 2016:

Number of workouts: 6
Total miles run: 54.27
Average miles per run: 9.05

Miles in April: 181.38
Miles in 2016: 775.80


With the race on Saturday, I moved my miles around so that the quality tempo would be the race and the easy, general mileage would be the rest of the week. Tuesday I doubled and went outside for the AM run rather than hitting the treadmill. It was around 6:30 and absolute perfection: in the mid-40s, no wind, sun on its way up. I felt outstanding, like I could have gone all day. I felt I loved, loved running. Alas, I did have to call it quits after an hour and go to work.

The rest of the weekday running was fine. I took Friday as a rest day for a couple reasons and ran the Tommy 10-miler on Saturday.

I still had a long run to get in on Sunday. Because the Flyers unexpectedly won Game 5, there was a Game 6, and they scheduled it for noon today. Noon!? When was I supposed to get 20+ in if the game was in the damn dead middle of the day??

I guess in the morning; don't like to have 20+ miles hanging over my head all day and couldn't risk a mega-overtime game eating up the hours.¹ I had kind of hoped to sleep in a little bit after not getting the best sleep Friday night, but that went out the window. I got up at 7 and felt exactly like I was having to go to work, going down to eat breakfast and then back up to get dressed and head out the door by 8. At least it was a very nice early-ish Sunday -- why couldn't it have been this nice yesterday? Mid-40s and sun, a little wind but nothing bad. I thought I'd try to get a little hilly running done today as I have not done much really hilly mileage lately and Vermont City is getting closer. I did a couple loops around Paper Mill Park to get my legs going -- they were not especially interested, unfortunately -- and then headed up Paper Mill Road. After that couple laps, I felt ok. I wouldn't say good, but not bad. I meandered up and down the long hills of Paper Mill Road and then around down Possum Hollow Road, which generally feels cool and serene as it is an off-the-main-drag road, but on my way back up I started to feel yesterday's race. I headed back down Paper Mill Road and when I finally made it back to the park, I decided that was going to be all the hill running I would do today. I'd kind of thought I might do my second session up Polly Drummond but the very thought made me sore and tired. I was at about 10K when I paused at my car. I had a gel and set about getting in a few more miles. I decided to take the rest of the run in 3-4 mile segments, which would make the next 16 miles manageable, if perhaps a little dull looping around and around at the park. Wouldn't be the first time I killed high miles there (and won't be the last). The weather was fine, it was early enough that the park wasn't busy, and I ate up the distance.

Water and Gatorade at 10 miles; I thought then that the whole 22 on the schedule might be a reach. I was starting to hurt. Not a real hurt yet, but a creeping heaviness in my legs and some tightness in my abdominal muscles. By my next break around 13.5 miles, it was amplifying. Legs starting to hurt, lower back getting in on the action, but I was still running ok. Easy pace, just a little robotic and heavy. I stopped again just short of 17 miles, and I made my decision. 20 would be adequate. If I got to 20 and felt I could eke out another 2.5 laps for the whole 22, then that would be gravy, but if I got to 20 and was too hurty to get there, then that was fine.

It had warmed up some, but not awfully. I changed to short sleeves after keeping comfortable in long sleeves for a while, and it's too bad that my legs were so beat up, because it would have been just the best day for a 22er. I'm sort of surprised by how fast the second 10 miles seemed to go by because usually when I'm hurting the distance just totally drags. I got the Iowa City High fight song stuck in my head after 15 miles, which amused me but actually worked quite well with the cadence of my pace. I thank the weather for being so pleasant; I think that's what helped it pass by. I'm not sorry I jammed the tempo and the long run right up against each other. I knew what I was getting into. I didn't go to the well yesterday and I got good time out of my feet and legs today.

Taking my usual Monday rest day and I will see about recovery. Easy miles Tuesday, possibly Wednesday; if I'm feeling ok Wednesday I will do the week's first quality workout (tempos) then, otherwise Thursday. I will decide at that point if I'm going to feel good enough to do the half-marathon in Iowa City on Sunday as another quality tempo workout. No big deal if not, but I still have a tough workout to do even if I don't race.

Vermont City is five weeks away. I still have some work to get done.