Category Archives: training

2011 Training Log – Week 36

My running mojo meter registered an eleven this week. Probably the best week of the year for me in terms of training and racing. I made the most of a business trip to Chicago and squeezed in two races over the weekend. It was a pretty grueling schedule, as the business side of things was fairly intense, but it all worked out and I pulled it off and had a great time doing it.

I got in two workouts last week, and a final one this week to prep for the races. Not a lot to go on, but I made the most of it and was glad to at least have gotten that much in.

Monday
Run – 5.5 miles
Terrible run. Was sprinting across the street to beat some traffic and kicked the curb very hard in my Trail Gloves. Just missed the end of my big toe and caught it at the base. Would have been 70 yard field goal had a football been teed up. Had to walk it off for a minute, but thankfully no long-term damage. Lucked out there.

Run – 5.1 miles
Much better. Headlamp run. Huge lightning show – but no thunder. Shirt off in the rain. Just sound of my footsteps, breathing and crickets. Broken clouds revealed patches of stars. tons of spider eyes reflecting back at me.

Tuesday
Run – 10.2 miles
Good workout. Five x .5 mile intervals @ 5:55 pace. Should have gone for 8 at a little slower pace, or 3-4 a little faster, though. Fitness is key, but I’m amazed at how much technique is involved. Really had to concentrate to get the legs to spin.

Run – 3 miles
Experiment to see if doing a short/easy run in the evening helps things feel better later on after a harder run day. Legs were a little sluggish, but not sore or tight at all.

Wednesday
Run – 7 miles
Nice one. Very cool temp, only 50 degrees. I love it when an easy day is truly easy. Sometimes they can be a grind, but today was a cruise. I was prepared for the worst after being up since 3:30 in the morning due to work. Heart rate averaged 124.

Thursday
Run – 20 miles
Started running within about 90 minutes of landing @ O’Hare. Picked up the rental and drove down to Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in the southern ‘burbs. Beautiful park with a 9.5 mile loop on a rolling 8’ wide crushed limestone trail. Highly recommend this spot if you are looking to do a long run in the Chicago area. Got in 20 miles at an easy pace. Finished up just as it was too dark to see.

This branch stopped me in my tracks. Couldn’t believe how far it went.

Friday
Run – 10.6 miles
4.5 mile warmup followed by Rock Cut Coyote Howl 10k. This was a night time trail race at Rock Cut State Park near Rockford, IL. Huge fun, very hard effort. Placed 9th overall out of 130, 1st place in AG.

Saturday
Run – 4 miles
Easy jog around the hotel after a very long and exhausting day of work.

Sunday
Run – 6.4 miles
Warmup and Chase the Bear 5k race. Placed 4th overall out of 141. Very happy with how this one turned out.

Total: 11:32
Run 72.2 miles

Pic of the week – cabin pressure/elevation after takeoff in Denver and before landing in Chicago:

Posted in run, training

2011 Training Log – Week 35

Sep 11

Posted by chrisboyack

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

Posted in bike, run, training

1 Comment

2011 Training Log – Week 34

Sep 6

Posted by chrisboyack

I had great intentions of really getting after it this week, but a combination of not feeling well plus needing to help take care of my sick daughter derailed the second half of the week training-wise. Not a big deal. Running is easily forgotten and set aside when one of your kids needs you.

The highlight of the week was getting to see my son and daughter run in their first meet of the Cross Country season. So proud of them for working hard at all of their practices, keeping up with good grades, and being great kids in general. I would have been too chicken/self-conscious to compete like they are at that age, but thankfully they didn’t inherit my limitations in that regard.

Monday
Run – 10.2
Took about 3 miles to loosen up, then rolled nicely at mid 7 pace for about 5 miles before slowing for the last 2.

Tuesday
Run – 8
Dismal.

Run – 3
Felt good. Hydrated a bunch this afternoon. Kept it slow.

Wednesday
Run – 7
Dismal-er.

Bike – 14.5
Got in a good evening/night ride in the Highlands Ranch Backcountry while waiting to pick up my kids. Felt good. Celebrated the noticeable lack of heel pain when hitting the jumps. My achilles tendons used to scream on the liftoffs and landings. Not even a whimper tonight. First time in 2.5 years…

Thursday
Off

Friday
Run – 10.2 miles

Accumulated some miles running around the course at the kid’s cross country meet shooting photos and also doing a couple of miles in between races. So proud of the kids. They aren’t the speediest in the bunch (just like dad), but work really hard and have fun. It was a huge meet and a challenging course with two stream crossings thrown in.