2011 Training Log – Week 46
Party’s over! This week wraps up my “off” season. It has been 7 weeks since the Slickrock 100 and I have been keeping the training pretty low key in that time. Unlike previous years, I have continued running consistently during the downtime, just at a reduced volume – averaging 38 miles per week (two weeks in the 60s, two in the 40s, two in the 20s, and a dinky little two miler the week after Slickrock). Hopefully that little bit of maintenance will set me up well for 2012.
I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Put on a few pounds. Did some fun running with family and friends. Now it’s time to get serious about next year.
Monday
Run – 7.1 miles
Saucony Kinvara
I treated this run as an experiment. I certainly would have felt justified in taking the day off to let my calves recover. They are very sore and tight from Saturday’s 20 miler in the Trail Gloves. I felt like getting out for a few slow miles today, as uncomfortable as it was, would set me up for feeling better later on in the week. Rather than dragging it out. We’ll see how that pans out… The run was slow and uncomfortable, I even had to walk up a couple of small hills because my calves were so blown. Everything else felt great, and I was jogging along nicely by the end.
Tuesday
Run – 7.2 miles
Merrell Trail Glove
Another slow day. Jogged around the boneyard. Had to stop 4x to let the calves settle down.
Wednesday
Run – 13.4 miles
Merrell Trail Glove
Calves still very tight, but I was back to running today instead of jogging along. Sort of a medium tempo with 150 average heart rate.
Thursday
Run – 3.1 miles
VFF KSO
Turkey Trot in Castle Rock. Jogged and walked with my daughter as she zipped along in her wheelchair.
Friday
Run – 10.1 miles
Merrell Trail Glove
Solid run at the boneyard. Ran steady (147 avg), not too hard, but not easy. Stopped one time to let the calves relax. They are doing much better.
Saturday
OFF
Painting and working around the house from sunup until late at night.
Sunday
OFF
Ditto Saturday
Total: 41 miles / 6:48 / 402 TSS
Pic of the week – Artist’s rendering, since I didn’t actually take a picture:
While we were painting, I put this on the wall. Stumped the kids – they needed a hint to figure it out.
Race Report: 2011 Turkey Rock Trot
We kept the tradition alive for another year, participating in the Turkey Trot 5k in Castle Rock for the 4th time in a row.
The kids and the crowds were all a bit bigger than they were previously.
The Rock Trot makes for a fun outing and we are happy to help support the Douglas County Food Bank.
The girls were cute as always.
Jessica was in charge of our turkey mascot.
I’m not quite sure what look Malcolm was going for.
We huffed and puffed up some hills, and got our appetites all warmed up for later.
Katie put on the brakes thinking it was time to stop when we passed the kids waiting for us before the finish. She was promptly directed to continue…
We did it! Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
2011 Cross Country Banquet
Every year the cross country family gets together to eat, watch some slideshows, and recognize the efforts and performances of all the runners. We were treated to a great dinner catered by the Texas Roadhouse.
Coach P. does an awesome job with calling up each runner to get a certificate with their PR on it. He says a few nice things about them as well, which is a great touch. It takes a while with so many runners (100+ ?), but we all enjoy hearing the stories and cheering for the kids.
I was so proud of LJ (center) for making it all the way through the season. I know it wasn’t easy for her. She made great progress and the coach pointed out that her PR came at the final meet which was not the easiest course. She really pushed hard in that one.
All of the seniors were presented with a cool blanket with the school logo on it. Malcolm was happy with that!
Coach P. is well known for his love of sandals and minimal footwear. He teaches a world history course and devotes a 2 week section to running in ancient times (think Born to Run). He made these sandals for Malcolm a couple of months ago.
With a little nudge from Coach E., Malcolm and friends got together and made a video set to the tune of “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” (#1 on the country charts in 1981!). They wrote new lyrics in tribute to their coach and called it “You Were Barefoot When Barefoot Wasn’t Cool”. They got the audience to sing along with them, too. It was great!
I shot some video and will get that posted later.
The Scene Begins 