One of the better weeks I’ve had all year.  The forced days off last week did me some good and I felt like I ran better this week as a result.  Nice to get in some harder efforts, too.  It has been much too long.  I think I was happier with how I ran in the days between the workouts than I was with the workouts themselves.  Nice to have a sense of building strength rather than being totally wrecked.

Monday
Run – 12.7 miles
Tough route from home. Felt good ascending the first half, fell apart a little on the descent coming back. Came around a corner and faced off with a bear about 30 yards away. Luckily it bolted into the brush after a few seconds.

Tuesday
Run – 11 miles
Really productive workout. Did 3 surges of 200-400 meters during the first three miles. Then .5 mile, 1 mile, 1 mile, .5 mile repeats at 5k pace. Felt rusty, been a long time since I’ve done a workout. Last repeat was the best.

Wednesday
Run – 7 miles
Good run. Physiological adaptation is an amazing thing. I ran 7 hilly miles in one hour flat today (8:30 pace). Nothing that remarkable, except my average heart rate was 132. I remember back when I started running, I used to do a flat 4 miler keeping my heart rate at 140 as a test and I would usually hit about 10:20 pace for the run. Took me about a year to get under 10 minute pace for that run. Big difference between then and now. Cool.

Thursday
Run – 11 miles
Tempo’d the middle 5 @ 6:54 pace. Happy with that, been a long time since I have done much of anything with a 6 in front of it. Wasn’t a true tempo, though. I need to be more disciplined about that. The first few miles were good, hanging out in the mid to high 160 range, but the last two were up into the 170s and became more of a race-type effort.

Friday
Run – 10.4 miles
Squeezing in some running before/after/during the kid’s XC meet. The course was one big loop so I really had to sprint for all I was worth to get some photos at various points. Really enjoyed watching the kids run and the atmosphere at the event.

Saturday
Run – 14.5 miles
Took care of some things around the house then bolted out the front door at noon headed for Carpenter Peak. This is my favorite run to do from home and I love getting up on the trails of Roxborough State Park whenever I have the chance. The weather was spectacular. Bright, warm sunshine, and a nice cool breeze. I felt good. Not great, but good enough to really enjoy the effort it took to reach the peak. Satisfying.

Sunday
Run – 4 miles

Easy treadmill.

Total: 10:41
Run 70.5 miles / 10:41

Pic of the week:

Eat your veggies