Fast Start to a Tough Week

After another Sunday off, it was time to get back into the groove this Monday morning.  This is the start of the first 40 mile week for me this time around.  That was my peak week mileage during training for my first marathon.  I'm hoping to get around 60 miles in my biggest week before the half marathon in November.

Monday has been designated a speedwork day, even though I haven't always been keeping it at that.  I thought about doing some hill repeats on Schoeneck, but I'm thinking that I'll run hilly Bear Creek tomorrow.  I don't want back to back climbing days.  I definitely need to incorporate some climbing into my routine more though.

I opted instead to head out on the Nor-Bath Trail and run a fartlek.  I started at Bicentennial Park in East Allen Township.  The goal for this was for me to run some even faster segments that I'm used to.  I'm concentrating on longer intervals on Wednesdays, but I wanted to run shorter and faster today.  I needed to get out of my comfort zone.

I started with a mile warmup and then ran the 4 mile segment in the middle by switching between hard and easy segments.  I usually didn't have a planned distance for any of the segments until they started.  I let my body dictate the recovery time too.  I finished up with a mile cooldown as well.

The first fast segment actually wasn't too fast.  It was just quick enough to get the legs adapting to faster running.  After that, I picked it up a bit.  I was right around a 6 minute pace for the next on segment (which was .20 miles long).  I wanted challenge myself early, so I took it up another notch on the following on segment.  I went to a 5:48 pace for a quarter mile.  In between those segments, I ended up with a longer recovery period than I would've liked.  There was a road crossing and I had to wait until getting over it to run hard again.

Following the fast segment, my legs started to feel it.  I kept the next on segment brisk, but slowed it down some and made it longer.  At .36 miles, this was the longest fast segment of the day.  I finished up where the path ends at 2.75 miles and then turned back around.

Coming back, I had to start out slower than earlier in the run.  My legs just weren't feeling strong any more.  The early hard running took a lot out of me.  The weather wasn't that bad, but I was still sweating plenty.  I put together two fairly quick short segments.  The first was a 6:10 pace and the second one was a 5:34 pace for .15 miles.  I really had to work during that one.

I knew I was beginning to fall apart, but I just kept pressing on.  After those short bursts, my final two fast segments were a bit longer.  They were both quarter milers and each was a 6:20 pace.  For the first one, I ran hard for the first half and pushed even more for the second half.  The last quick segment was more controlled.  I even ended up crossing a road for that one.  There are three bridges in a row at one point on the course and I was glad that I never had to run hard over them.  It worked out just right.

In the end, my hard running added up to 2.01 miles at an average pace of about 6:25.  With some of it under a 6 minute pace, this run accomplished exactly what I wanted.  Amazingly, I still felt somewhat fresh after it was over.  At least as fresh as one could expect anyway.  It has been awhile since I worked this hard though.  It was an excellent workout.

Earlier in the day, someone messaged me on facebook about how to get/stay motivated.  I gave her some tips with goal setting, group running and even hanging my training plan on the wall to make me accountable.  One of the few positives about being unable to run for long stretches of each of the last three years is that when I am able to run, I'm always hungry.  I haven't been healthy long enough to get stale yet.  I'm sure that will eventually happen.  I'm am so far from my goals that I'm not sure I'll ever fall into too much of a rut until I achieve them all. 

I also just have different priorities that most people.  Of course family comes first.  Since I am as single as can be and with no kids, that doesn't take up much of my time.  After that, I put running second and work third.  For now, it is easy because there is no work at all to deal with either.  When I do get back into it though, I plan on working in retail with something related to running.  That way my second and third priorities will blend together.  A lot people want a nice house, car or material possessions.  I really just want to run and enjoy what I'm doing when it comes to working.  That means from now on I'll probably just skate by with paying bills and such.  That is fine with me because I'm simple.  It will all certainly make my training a lot better than the average person

I also went to the doctor this afternoon.  I feel great now, but it is just depressing being in there.  I don't plan on going in and out of there as I get older, so that keeps me motivated to workout too.  Maybe my Crohn's Disease will always be a problem, but I'm going to work to control it.

As I said before, tomorrow I hope to go to Bear Creek.  It's been well over a month since I've been there.  Since my legs were bothering me, I got away from hill climbing and most trail running.  I need to get back to more of that now that I'm feeling better.  I've done almost none of that type of training since Quadzilla.  Mixing up my training will keep me strong in all facets of running.

6 miles - 49:01 (8:11 pace)