Monday
Run – 5 / 1:01 (12:20) / 137avg
Boneyard easy jog in VFFs. Calves super tight again, had to stop halfway for 3-4 minutes and shake them out. Felt better after that.

Tuesday
Run – 10.2 / 1:22 (8:02) / 148avg
Another routine 10 miler. The body is slowly starting to remember. Dealing with a little bit of a heel flare-up, though.

Wednesday
Run – 8.7 / 1:15 (8:43) / 155avg
Really stoked with this one. It’s not like I set the world on fire or anything, but I’m slowly starting to get some legs back. Went into it a bit tired, but wanted to push a little given the easy day coming up tomorrow. I thought doing a solid 8 miles on this course (very winding and hilly singletrack + some XC) at a 50k effort level would be nice. I guessed that would be at a heart rate in the high 150s and if I was lucky my pace would be around 8:30.

1.95 miles per lap
16:12 (8:22) 159avg
17:04 (8:45) 159avg
16:35 (8:26) 157avg
15:55 (8:09) 163avg

To end up with 7.8 in 1:06 (8:28) 160avg. Ya, pretty slow, but on this terrain it was good for me. I pretty much nailed my prediction. I felt relaxed and in control. Now I just need to get back to where I can hold that effort for 50k, then 50M. It’s a start…

Wednesday
Run – 2 / :18 (9:29) / 140avg
Did a few barefoot laps around a soccer field for a cool down.

Thursday
Bike – 20.7 / 1:17 (16mph) / 125avg
Easy spin on the mtb.

Friday
Run – 21.2 / 3:23 (9:35) / 138avg
Long run home from work in the dark. Very pleasant day, 68 in January! My legs felt good and strong. I would loved to have run for another hour or so, but both of my heels were complaining loudly. The achilles were super tight and giving off quite the burning sensation.

I really like this bit about long runs I found on the McMillan site. While it is geared towards marathon training, I like it because of the part about running for home. I tend to do that a lot, really pound the last few miles. This makes me think it is better to just keep the effort even and finish when you finish:

The purpose is simply time on your feet. Challenging your ability to keep running improves your endurance and is a cornerstone of distance training. While there are debates on just how long and fast your long run should be, the general recommendation is that you keep your heart rate around 70% of maximum. They are slow runs with the challenge of simply running a steady pace for the entire duration of the run. Keep the effort easy and resist the temptation to increase the pace just to get home sooner. Give the body time to really feel the stimulus of a long run. It will reward you with greater endurance adaptations that will serve you well in later workouts and races.

Saturday
Run – 3 / :30 (10:00) / 122avg
Easy treadmill. Legs feel great after yesterday’s long run. Both heels are feeling it, though.

Sunday
Bike – 20.7 / 1:09 (17.9) / 155avg
Rode the mtb back to work to pick up my car. The speed doesn’t really show it, but this was a harder effort with a lot of hills.  Felt good to stand up and hammer them.

Run – 50.1 / 7:51
Bike – 41.4 / 2:27

Monday
Run – 3 / :30 (10:00) / 131avg
VFF jog around the hood.

Tuesday
Run – 10.1 / 1:16 (7:30) / 164avg
Good run. Pushed up the effort level on a very hilly course.

Wednesday
Run – 10.2 / 1:29 (8:47) / 141avg
Decent run after yesterdays effort. Kept it nice and easy. Wore beefy shoes to protect the foot, didn’t bother me too much.

Thursday
Run – 7 / 1:12 (10:14) / 129avg
This was the best crappy run I’ve had in a long time. Brisk day, with new snow and bright sunshine. My legs just did not want to go, and I didn’t push them in the slightest. Just jogged slowly. I think Tuesday’s run took more out of me than I thought, it always hits harder 48 hours out than it does the day after. I took it as a good sign though. The body has been stressed, time to relax and let it adapt.

Friday
Bike – 16.4 / :58 (16.9mph) / 146avg
Tried a repeat of last Friday’s ride on the MTB. Laps around a hilly 2 mile course. Wanted to push hard for 10 laps and average over 20mph. The wind was huge and making it a real struggle, I just wasn’t in the groove. Cut it short (2 days in a row now) at 6 laps and ended up with a 19.7 average. Happy enough with that work and am starting to feel things come together a bit.

Stats for the lap:
12.8 / :39 (19.5) / 155avg

Saturday
Run – 18.1 / 2:52 (9:32) / 138avg
Another pre-dawn jog around the neighborhood. Same course (6 mile laps) as last 2 weeks. Pretty satisfied with this run. Still not pushing the speed at all, but easily matched the pace of my last two long runs that were 12 milers, with this one being 6 miles longer. Felt good for the most part and the time flew by. Struggled the last 2 miles, but I hadn’t taken anything to eat/drink so that was mostly to blame.

Sunday
Run – 5 / :50 (10:00) / 132avg
TM. Felt decent after yesterday’s long run.

Run – 53.4 / 8:09
Bike – 16.4 / :58

Monday
Run – 3.1 / 1:19 (25:11) / 122avg
First tromp in the new snowshoes. Did a big loop around the neighborhood. Slow going, very cold (1.5F), but fun. Stayed perfectly warm except for the exposed bits of my face. Will be good if I can do this 2x/week.

Tuesday
Run – 10.3 / 1:34 (9:10) / 145avg
Got back to the bread-and-butter 10 miler. Tough footing. Ran in packed tire treads, but the snow was so dry it would just divot when you push off.

Wednesday
Run – 10.1 / 1:26 (8:30) / 145avg
Back to back 10 milers, been a long time. Best word to describe this run is ‘routine’. I am very glad to be able to use that word on a 10 miler at this stage in the game.

Wednesday
Run – 2 / :46 (22:19) / 126avg
Snowshoe in the dark around the park while the kids were @ bball practice.

Thursday
Run – 10.2 / 1:36 (9:27) / 137avg
3rd 10 miler in a row. Knew that might be a stretch for me right now so kept the effort way down in hopes of minimizing the impact. A few miles of very tough forward progress in sugary snow. Tons of people out today, nice weather in the 40s. Shorts and T in January, love it.

Want to keep running, but will opt for some sort of bike tomorrow to give the foot/heel a rest. It’s still a bit cranky.

Friday
Bike – 25 / 1:26 (17.3mph) / 148avg
Great day for a bike ride, but the roads are still snow covered and slushy. Luckily I had scoped out a well-to-do neighborhood that I run through and found a 2 mile loop that was 95% snow-free. I rolled over there and commenced a 10 lap hard effort, trying to keep my average speed over 20mph on the rolling course. The knobby tires were humming today. I checked at the halfway point and the speed was 19.7, and it was still 19.7 at the finish. Didn’t quite make my goal, but it was a solid effort and I was happy to see I didn’t fade over the second half.

Stats for the lap:
21.35 / 1:04 (19.7) / 159avg

Saturday
Run – 12.3 / 1:56 (9:29) / 137avg
Got up at 05:15 to get this one out of the way before going to kids basketball games. It was dark and cold, the roads still snowpacked and icy in several places. Just jogged along in the dark, not even an ipod this time. Happy with the routine I’m starting to establish. HR averaged 137, nice and easy. Legs were a little tired from yesterday’s effort, but not nearly as bad as I thought they would be.

Sunday
Run – 3 / :30 (10:00) / 124avg
Short recovery jog on the treadmill.

Sunday
Run – .6 / :08
Barefoot on the treadmill.

Run – 51.6 / 9:16
Bike – 25 / 1:26