Hmmm.  137 miles left to hit 3,000 for the year.

Good week.  Getting into a good groove.  Not really training for anything at the moment, but I have been very consistent for the past few weeks.  Definitely one of the better Decembers I have had.  Time to start figuring out what’s next on the schedule.

Monday
Run – 8.2 miles
66 TSS
Merrell Trail Glove

Slogged through sugary/crusty snow for 5, then felt pretty zippy for the last 3 on the roads.

Run – 5.3 miles
61 TSS
Nike Free

Hopped on the treadmill for another go at my Powerline simulator. Still making some tweaks.

Tuesday
Run – 1 mile
16 TSS
Nike Free

Dumbbell workout on the treadmill, 15% incline.

Run – 7.1 miles
81 TSS
Saucony Kinvara

Easy cruise.

Wednesday
Run – 11.6 miles
106 TSS
Merrell Trail Gloves

Hill Reap Eats. Visualized nailing these, but reality said otherwise.

Hill was exactly .5 mile. I ran hard up and then turned right around and headed down for another. The legs were not up to speed, but I kept at it anyway. Pushing super hard on the first and second. After about dying when I topped out for the second time, I backed off just a little for the rest.

4:23 / 165avg
4:38 / 167avg
4:43 / 163avg
4:51 / 163avg
4:44 / 163avg
4:45 / 163avg

Traction was poor on glazed-over snow. It’ll be good to hit this again in another 2 weeks or so and see some improvement.

Thursday
Run – 7 miles
79 TSS
Saucony Kinvara

Another easy cruise.

Friday
Run – 21.5 miles
225 TSS
New Balance MT101

Satisfied with this run commute home from work. Didn’t feel great, but not bad. Strong and steady. This run let me know the training I am doing is working, but I am not feeling so beat up that I can’t enjoy a nice long run like this.

Saturday

OFF

Sunday
Run – 5.3 miles
50 TSS
Nike Free

Treadmill. Another run on the Powerline simulator. Still making some final tweaks, but it’s close.

Total: 67.1 miles / 11:01 / 688 TSS

Pic of the week:

I must have missed counting a week somewhere.  Skipping 48 and calling this one 49, then.

Another strong week, just where I wanted to be.  Two workouts and a good long run.  Keeping the miles at a good amount, but not going overboard.  Will continue to add quality and also start building in some cross training.

Monday
Run – 10.5 miles
151 TSS
Nike Free

Spent a couple hours on the mill doing my Leadville Powerline course. Two laps, about 3,000′ of climbing. More on that in a later post.

Tuesday
Run – 7 miles
67 TSS
New Balance Minimus Trail

Easy cruise still absorbing last night’s workout.

Wednesday
Run – 11.4 miles
124 TSS
Saucony Kinvara

Time for a hard session. Did 5 repeats on a .35 mile hill (Locust).  Main goal was to make these hurt and see at least 180 on the heart rate monitor.  My legs were still a little fatigued from Monday, but I managed to get some good work in.

2:44 (7:59) / 162avg / 177max
2:31 (7:17) / 165avg / 177max
2:31 (7:17) / 168avg / 177max
2:23 (7:02) / 171avg / 180max
2:24 (7:10) / 171avg / 178max

Thursday
Run – 7 miles
75 TSS
Saucony Kinvara

I love it when an easy day actually feels easy. That is not always the case. Usually I am feeling beat from a previous day’s effort and just slog through the run.

Maybe even more than hitting a good workout, I get satisfaction out of a day like this. The numbers themselves are not impressive:

8:40 pace
138avg

But when taken in context – hard day yesterday, moderate hilly course, early in season, etc. and with how I felt (pretty good) – it’s a good indicator of progress. It’s a far cry from a few years ago when I would occassionally do 4 mile test runs on a flat course going as fast as I could while keeping the heart rate under 140. I used to be over 10:00 pace back then.

After anothe few weeks I’ll get to sub 8:00 at the same average heart rate, or have a heart rate in the 120s at today’s pace.

Couldn’t stop hitting repeat on Linkin Park “Session”.

Friday
Run – 7 miles
73 TSS
New Balance Minimus Trail

Another easy cruise.

Saturday
Run – 20.3 miles
168 TSS
La Sportiva Crosslite

With all of the moon chatter recently (eclipse this morning) it reminded me of a run I did 3 years ago this very weekend. Night laps around Green Mountain (Lakewood) by the light of the full moon.

I dragged my feet all day doing Christmas shopping and working around the house. When it got to be 7pm I knew it was time to get going, but I really wanted to just park my butt on the couch for the evening.

Two things made it happen. The memory of the last time I did this run (it was awesome), and my training log. It sometimes gets old keeping up with a log like this, but it does help when you need an extra little push to get out the door.

I finally got packed up and made the drive to the deserted mountain. It was 23 degrees, but not windy at all. I dressed perfectly and was able to stay comfortable the whole time just by regulating the temp with my jacket zipper.

The moon was bright!! The mountain was covered in snow, but the trail was melted out for at least half of the distance, so it was tough to see in those parts without a light. I ended up using a headlamp quite a bit more than I thought I would, but it was still very cool to be running along under a clear sky with such a bright moon.

3,500′ of gain with 3 main climbs and a lot of rolling terrain in between.  The footing was tough with frozen tracked up snow, or frozen tracked up mud being the most common.  I had a great time and can’t wait to do it again.

Sunday

OFF

Total: 63.4 miles / 10:59 / 653 TSS

Pic of the week:

Decent week for the start of 2012 training.  Wanted 60-65 miles and got that.  Will probably stay there for a couple of weeks before moving that up a little.  Happy with the two workouts, but didn’t go as long on the weekend as I was hoping.  Pretty tough conditions on that one.

Monday
Run – 10.7 miles
Merrell Trail Glove

Very good run. Actually felt like I was ‘training’. Don’t know what for, but that will come soon enough. Hit the boneyard for some hot laps on the twisting, climbing, lumpy and overgrown singletrack. It’s an ugly place to run, but effective for getting some dirt time while in the city. Kind of like a Crossfit gym in a rented storage unit.

Did an easy 3 mile warmup, followed by 5 hard laps with 2 min rest. Each lap is 1.2 miles. The first four were like an old-time duel. Controlled, gentlemanly. I pushed hard on the last one and hit 178 on the heart rate which is up there for me. That lap was more like a knife fight in a dark alley. Happy with the workout.

Tuesday
Run – 10.2 miles
New Balance Minimus

Easy but steady. Tired from yesterday, but not too jacked up. Saw 13 mallards in one little pond.

Wednesday
Run – 10.3 miles
Merrell Trail Glove

Warmed up easy for 3 miles, then cranked it up for 6 at a medium-hard effort with a 164 average heart rate.

Thursday
Run – 7.5 miles
La Sportiva Crosslite

Ran like a snail. A tired, frozen snail. Shuffled along through several inches of new powder.

Friday
Run – 9.2 miles
Merrell Trail Glove

Nice steady cruise. Felt a lot better than yesterday.

Saturday
Run – 12.2 miles
New Balance MT101

Out early in the dark and cold to shuffle through several inches of new snow again. Not the most pleasant run, but hopefully I’ll get some benefit out of it?

Sunday
Run – 4 miles
Nike Free, barefoot

Easy jog on the treadmill.

Total: 64 miles / 10:20 / 608 TSS

Pic of the week – I’ve always wanted to go to Pencilvania: