This week I was finally able to bang out a normal (for me) week of quantity (miles) and quality (workouts). It feels like forever since I've strung together a week like this, but it probably hasn't been that long. My sore left foot/ankle and sometimes tight right foot have been improving, and now don't hinder my runs. I was able to hit the track twice and still able to engage in normal runs, and not feel like I had to go super easy. I was really happy to string together some longer runs with good intensity. This is something I enjoy and I felt like I was missing the last few weeks.
Monday: 10 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. Nothing too interesting about this run, but I was happy to start the week off with a double digit number. I also strung together a new route that kept me interested.
Tuesday: 6 miles - URI indoor track solo. I did it again. I already had plans to meet Mike tomorrow, but with a rainy day, I decided to take advantage of my membership and run inside. My plan was to run 20 minutes at T pace. I liked the simplicity of this, and had read an article by Daniels about the benefit of these workouts. My T pace for 20 minutes is the high 5:50's, but to keep things easy, I used 45 second 200's (6:00 pace) as my target. The track was busy again, so I was happy with my decision. After a 2.5 mile warm up, I got to it. I would have to weave around different lanes to avoid getting in the way of the women's team doing 200 meter repeats and the men's team warming up in the opposite direction. I was very consistent (within 1 second of 45) the entire time and the pace felt under control. The hardest part was how long it seemed to take since the oval is so short. I decided to extent my 20 minutes to 3.5 miles (21 minutes). Result: 20:55. The track was then getting even busier with the men beginning 50 meter strides across all lanes. I kept my cool down to just 4 laps and got out of there. I can't wait for more of these workouts.
Wednesday: 8 miles - URI indoor track with outside warm up/cool down with Galoob. Today was a speed day. The Daniels workout we were attempting was: 2x200/1x800 @ R pace, then 600/400/300 @ F pace. All with long recoveries. My body was feeling okay after yesterday, but I wasn't feeling confident about the workout. After a 2 mile warm up outside and then another mile inside with strides mixed in, we were ready to begin. The track was free of college athletes, but there was some basketball traffic as described on Mike's blog. My target time for the 200's was 37 and I began with a 34 (oops) and then a lazy 38. I need a regular watch. I felt some soreness and just a lack of speed on the 800, and I missed my 2:28 target (2:32). This wasn't a good sign for the fast intervals. I didn't have a good attitude. The 600 ended up at 1:50, 4 seconds too slow. The 400 and 300 I nailed though, which felt good: 70/52. We then went back outside for a cool down through fraternity circle and the dorms.
Thursday: 11+ miles - Wickford roads and trails alone. My body felt stiff and terrible at the start, but after a couple of mile it loosened up nicely. My pace was a decent effort, but slow thanks to the two workouts. I explored side streets and found some new trails. This was a really fun run. There is a small trail system behind the shops in Wickford called Brush Hill Nature Reserve. I also wandered around Wilson Park and explored the abandoned rail bed some more, including finding a useful side trail that leads out to Annaquatucket Rd.
Friday: 11 miles - Quonset Bike Path and 2 Calf Pasture Point beach/trail loops solo. This run felt good. My legs were bouncing back and my pace was fast without putting in a lot of effort. I ran the length of the bike path to the Calf Pasture Point trail. I checked my watch and saw that I ran the first 3+ miles in under 22 minutes. This was a pleasant surprise as I felt slower than that. I then ran two loops around the point, which includes 3/4 mile on a wide trail, 1+ mile of thick sandy beach (with shells and other obstacles like stream crossings) and then a short 1/3 mile or so of bike path. I increased my intensity right away on the first loop, to a moderate level. My time was about a minute slower than my PR. I upped my speed some more, but still not a hard effort. This time I clocked in a new PR! I then had to run 3+ miles back to my car on the bike path. My lower legs were a bit fatigued, but I was able to maintain a good pace for the duration, and even went longer to get an even 11 for the day (final 3.6 miles in 6:34 pace.
Saturday: 9.5 miles - Burlingame (mostly) trails with Muddy and Ryan D. I wasn't sure what my running window was going to be on this day, but I was able to join Muddy and Ryan for some local trail fun. We began at the campground entrance and ran the mtn bike trails to Vin Gormley (after briefly taking some campground roads). We then ran up to Buckeye Brook Rd, taking the old left fork. We continued on VG until I had to detour back to my house. Fun run.
Sunday: 9.5 miles - Burlingame north hills alone. I bailed on my plan to segment hunt in Massachusetts after the wedding in the morning since there was at least 6" of new snow up there. Instead I ran on the clear trails and roads near my house when I got home. I ran down Burdickville Rd to the northern most section of Burlingame. I ran the powerline hill in a couple of directions, but really liked one short but steep side. I ran it 5 times total, making a small loop the last three times that might be a fun Strava segment. I then ran up and down Burdickville Rd to get some more hill action before jumping into Burlingame north (proper). I zigzagged my way to Shumankanuc Hill Rd by running up Ledge Trail and the beaver pond switchback. One more hill on the road to reach my house and I had banged out a nice hilly run.
Weekly Total: 65 miles
Last Week: 58 miles
Year to Date: 156 miles
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