Training, April 2-8

I never do training log posts, but Kim revised her weekly training post format to include lessons learned, and I liked it, so ... let's see how long this lasts :)  This is my current "training plan."

Workouts (you can also follow me on DailyMile):

Monday: "Rest" day after the half marathon. Rode my bike! 8.43mi in 55 minutes (9.2mph)

Tuesday: Met Kim after work for 5.15mi in 45 minutes, 8:38 pace ... and great conversation :)

Wednesday: Met Kelly J after work for 6.42mi in 1:02, 9:40 pace ... and more great conversation :)

Thursday: Rest. Actual rest this time. Wanted to be fresh for the following morning's hilly run.

Friday: Group run at Waterfall Glen. 9.34 hilly miles in 1:31, 9:45 pace. Beautiful morning for a run! Was smart and brought chocolate soy milk, pretzels and other snacks to eat post-run.

Saturday: Rest. Unless you count going to the gun range. Those things are heavy, so maybe it was a little strength training?

Sunday: Track workout. 6.02mi in 53 minutes, average pace = 8:44. Goal was 3x1600m at 7:33 pace with 800m recoveries. Actual splits were 7:29, 7:38, 7:41. WU was 9:51, 800m recovery paces were 9:55, 9:50, 9:25 and 1/2 mile CD was 10:33 pace.

Total miles: 27 running, 8 biking.

 

Lessons learned:

Bring snacks for hilly long runs that are about an hour from home. It really does help!

Stick to the goal pace during track workouts / speed sessions. Clearly, my sprint paces during this morning's run got slower. That's not the goal. The goal is to keep a consistent pace for each interval. I actually noticed I was going way too fast during my first sprint and forced myself to slow down. Had I not done that, my sprint splits would have been even more inconsistent.

For the past few months, I've been rotating between three pairs of shoes. The oldest are Brooks Adrenalines which are nearing 400 miles, the newer two are Mizuno Wave Nirvanas with 292 (blue) and 167 (yellow) miles on them. The yellow Mizunos are currently saved for races, and I rotate the blue Mizunos and the Brooks for training. I think I might try Brooks again for my next pair. I know I've ramped up the mileage a lot in the past few months, but I've been getting some minor aches and pains, and that never happened before the Mizunos. Right now I'm worried the nail on the big toe on my left foot might fall off - it's been sore/tender since last Sunday's half marathon. Also my ankle never felt painful, but it's finally starting to feel back to normal (and I've been wearing my Brooks a lot more lately). And I got my only blister ever in Mizunos, although that might have been due to double socks during a very cold 5K. All of these aches might not be the shoes, but my Brooks have served me well, so no harm in going back to them.