Weekly Log 11-19-12 to 11-25-12

Monday:  7 miles - Ryan Park trails alone.  Immediately following the race on Sunday, my body felt terrible, and I thought that it would need extra time to recuperate.  Wrong.  I felt fine today, so I headed out for an easy run on the classic 7 mile Ryan course.  The run was good, but  I definitely didn't need too many miles.  Total time: 52:04. 

Tuesday: 10 miles - Wickford Harbor roads alone.  I was without a car during the day at work, so I needed to run from the office.  Usually I would run the roads to Ryan Park, but I just ran there yesterday.  So instead, I wandered around side roads of Wickford, some I had run in the past, and others were new.  The flat terrain felt good on my still recovering legs.  I again didn't look at my watch while I ran for fear of pushing myself too hard.  The weather was really nice, but I can't help but notice how weak the November afternoon sun is.  I did get to mix in a short trail section in Wilson Park which led to a slower mile.  My legs felt tired at the end.  Total time: 1:11:59.  A pretty good pace for running easy. 



Wednesday: 6:30AM - 6+ miles - CCMS track workout with Mike and Ben.  I knew Mike's plan going in to the workout and it sounded really fun - 3 or 4 sets of 400,300,200,100 with 100 rest, 600 between sets run at fast 800 pace.  I wasn't sure what my target pace would be, so I checked online.  I decided to target 5:00/mile pace, but I would mostly just see how I felt on the track.  The weather wasn't nearly as cold as I thought, and the 38 degrees with no wind seemed almost perfect.  I felt a little tight on the first 400, but then was fine for the rest of the intervals.  It became apparent the 300's were the hardest, as I felt rested for the 400's and the 200's and 100's are so short it doesn't matter.  I was super pleased that my sets got faster.  Mike ran the last set with me which definitely helped.  My pace was way lower than my target.  Here are the results: (73.0/56.9/36.1/17.3) (71.8/54.3/34.7/16.6) (71.0/51.7/33.0/14.9).  Planning on a PM trail run. 

1:30PM - 8 miles - Carter Preserve trails alone. I was thinking of running in Perryville, but since I'll be running there on Friday, I drove past and parked at Carter off of Rte 112. I ran red to blue to yellow to the field loop, back via the power line to yellow to blue to split rock. Total time: 1:03:xx. I felt terrible the first three miles. My legs were sore and stiff, and I lacked energy thanks to the morning workout. The weather was so awesome I pressed on, and I finally perked up on the field loop.

Thursday: 0 - nice long hike with the family in Arcadia. We did the boardwalk around the roaring brook ponds and then hiked a section of the Arcadia Trail that is very scenic. I had to carry my daughter for a mile plus that was quite the workout.

Friday: 16 miles - Perryville trails with two miles of connecting roads mixed in with Muddy, Mike G, and Jeff. We met up late (7AM) at the Quaker Burial Ground. We ran the trails on the western side of DuVal before crossing Gravelly Hill Rd and running the eastern side. Love these trails - so hilly and twisty, but good footing. Our pace was on the easy side, but not slow. We ran a loop of dirt roads before heading back. We jumped onto Gravelly Hill Rd and ran north to the Browning Trail. Mike began pushing the pace halfway through, and we were really moving by the end. Fun stuff. I had to slow it down on the road and trails back. My legs were toast! Total time: 2:00:00. At the trailhead we noticed a new bulletin board. There was a new handwritten note about a mountain lion sighting. It seemed legit, especially with the two other notices about a missing dog (pug) and cat. I'll upload the photo later.

Saturday: 8 miles - Burlingame trails alone. I parked on Buckeye Brook Rd and ran south to the campground, and then continued on the North South Trail until I had been running for 31 minutes. 30:30 on the way back. Chillier than I expected. Glad I overdressed! Spent some time in the afternoon splitting wood. Fun but exhausting cross training.

Sunday: 10 miles - CHS track workout with Muddy. After Friday's run we talked about a possible longer interval workout today since none of us had weekend races. I spent some time researching 10K workouts and found a few fun options. They all seemed challenging. We decided on the one with the most variety and not as daunting: 3x1 mile at 10K goal pace/3x800 at 5K pace/3x300 at 1 mile pace. 400 rest except full rest for 300's. It was chilly with a frustrating wind at times. My legs were carrying some miles in them and I hoped to complete the workout on target. Results: 5:48/5:41/5:36 2:47/2:44/2:43 54/54/54. I was happy to beat the targets and to have negative splits. The miles were harder than I thought. I feared the 800's, but they went well. 300's were hard, but short. Pumped for the Christmas 10K in two weeks! Total time: 1:08.

Weekly Total: 65 miles
Last Week: 59 miles
Year to Date: 2711 miles