Muddy beat me to the punch with his post last night, but I've had a lot of the same sort of things going on in my head about running lately. Monday night I had anxiety dreams about the race on Saturday. I can't wait for it. I feel like I've gotten myself into top shape with all the training the last few weeks. With a really good taper this week, I should be able to perform well at the race on Saturday. The funny thing is that I don't feel as confident about where I might place in the race. Everyone else seems to be in great shape as well. I might run my heart out and finish 5th. It is what it is. I will be happy if I do give it my all.
Getting back on the trails last week was awesome. At first, there was a lot of mud and some icy spots still mixed in. By the weekend, things were back to normal. I really enjoyed my two runs in Burlingame last weekend. I can't wait to hit up Big River again, especially with the half marathon looming.
Monday: 7 miles - Ryan Park trails alone. A very busy day at work and a short window for a run. At the last minute I decided to do a workout today, rather than a day any closer to the race. My plan was to run the powerline loop Strava segment two times, with a few minutes of rest in between. My GPS measures the segment at 1.5 miles, but it feels like closer to 2. It's a nice hard loop with many short steep hills. I was looking for sub 10 minutes on both, thinking that my PR was 9:43 (guessing). I remember running super hard to get that PR and my legs weren't feeling that fresh today. The first loop felt difficult and not that fast, but my time was 9:37. Wow. I jogged around some trails for 5 plus minutes and then did a second loop. 9:26! This one felt easier than the first. It turns out that my PR was 9:30, so today I ran 2 of my 3 fastest times on this loop (40 attempts on Strava). I felt way better about my speed on the trails today than on Saturday. Maybe it was because Muddy wasn't there to kick my butt.
Tuesday: 7 miles - Calf Pasture Point (bike path/beach/trail) alone. This was just a short easy run - the first of many this week. It just the right mix of vitamin D, fresh air, break from work, but not taxing on the legs. I ran the point loop twice, enjoying the low tide, wind at my back, and the decent footing. Total time: 53 minutes.
Wednesday: 7 miles - Old Mountain Field trails with Galoob. I met up with Mike for part of this run. Just a really easy cruise around the single track trails. Total time: 59 minutes.
Thursday: 5.5 miles - Ryan Park trails with Brad and Dan. Lunch meeting. Easy going. Total time: 47 minutes.
Friday: 5 miles - Brrr-lingame course marking with Galoob. I was able to meet up and help mark the tricky campground section. Sometimes I would stop my watch, others I would leave it on while I was standing still, but I was out there for an hour and twenty minutes.
Saturday: 13 miles - Brrr-lingame 10Mile Trail Race, 1:06:09 - 7th place. Separate write up to follow.
Sunday: 8.5 miles - Burlingame trails solo. Despite some lower core/upper legs soreness from the race, this run was fantastic. I'm in love again with the variety of trails I have from my doorstep. The trails are in awesome shape. I ran out of time to complete my intended route, but still was able to loop around Sammy C's, to VG to Schoolhouse Pond, to Secret, and then back to Sammy C's. At the intersection of Secret and Sammy C's, I heard voices up ahead and then saw another runner veering off on the more secret section of Secret. It was Beth! What a badass. I then saw three mtn bikers resting (as usual). Instead of letting me pass, they took off in front of me. I stopped to give them a head start and then ran 2 of the 3 down in the next 1/4 mile section to the next intersection. Fun!! Headed home on the road, which was a bit of a bummer, but overall I love these Sunday Burlingame runs.
Overall: The race was a blast. I wish I was closer to the lead guys, but everyone is in top shape right now. The next race - Big River Half - is in two weeks. This is another race I'm focused on, so I won't be doing anything too crazy training-wise before then.
Weekly Total: 53 miles
Last Week: 71 miles
Year to Date: 696 miles
March Total: 223 miles
You're going to fly this weekend. Also, nice Grizzly Adams banner photo on the blog. Stay outta that guy's way!
ReplyDeleteHoly hell you look grizzled and fierce in that picture.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you end up hitting Big River on the weekend in between races. I'd be up for a refresher, and hopefully lessen my chances of getting lost again!
ReplyDeleteBig River is looking pretty nasty as of Wednesday...we need some serious melt in there. Lots of ice and snow. Some places (on the race course) there were inches of snow left. Lots of water. With that said...it looked a lot better than the previous week. I think by race day we should be OK. There will probably be random patches of snow here and there. Kinda like the random patches of dirt and mud that are there now!
DeleteTemps look to be warming up next week. I would love to race on clear trails again but I might be at an advantage running on snowy trails since I'm coming from the snow covered north. Should be fun either way! Nice race, Jonny. See you at Big River!
ReplyDeletePs. Do you know anyone that trains in Big River?
You may have posted an impressive 7th place finish at the race, but you're DFL again on blog recaps. What's going on? I think it may be overtraining. You're leaving it all in your day to day workout descriptions. Maybe you should ease off a little during the week, especially in the few days before a big race. Try not going over 100 words for a few days, let your mind and your keyboard recover a little. Relax and let the Strava map tell the story. Leave off the decimal places on your mileage in the last day or two, maybe even take a full rest day and log it later. You'll be fresh and bursting with prose, hyperlinks and metaphors, ready to let it all gush out after the race!
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha! This is too damn funny!
ReplyDelete