Tuesday, April 3: AM – GEHC Trails – 5 miles – Amanda and I had originally planned to go to trivia tonight and I wanted to get in 10 miles but didn’t think I’d have enough time to get it in after work. I woke up at 6:15, did my 45 or so minutes of news clips for work then headed out on the GEHC trails for five. It’s really nice running in the mornings right now. The temperature has been in the mid to high sixties everyday making it a little more comfortable than the afternoons.
PM – GEHC Trails – 5 miles – Got out of work and both Amanda and I seemed to be really tired. I headed back out for a quick five on the same out and back that I’ve been doing lately and then came home for dinner and an early bed time. Ten for the day.
Wednesday, April 4: Chicopee Woods – 11 miles – 8 sets 30-60-90s – I wanted to get another workout in on the tough terrain at Chicopee before Olde Rope Mill this weekend. I ran the same workout as last week, Coyote loop to Tortoise and White tail trails for 11 miles with 8 sets of 30-60-90 repeats. This week was much better than last week’s workout. I ran my repeats and my rest much better and finished my final set when I reached the creek crossing at the bottom of Granny’s climb, which means I fit in a whole set more before the creek than last week. I was hoping this would be a good confidence booster going into the weekend’s race, but after finishing, I just kind of felt okay. I was tired and I ran hard but I am still uneasy about how Saturday is going to go. I think I need to find something to mix my training up, whether it’s more miles or a couple of days of longer singles instead of doubles or finding a new place to run once or twice a week. I feel like I’m in a little bit of a rut after I ran the Running the Rocks race slower than I did last year. Made a road 5k is in order to see where I’m at in terms of fitness.
Thursday, April 5: AM GEHC Trails – 5 miles – Woke up early to get in another morning run. This is an old Keene State standby, double up on recovery days. I used to love doubling up on the day after workouts to get good mileage in but give my legs some extra time to recover.
PM GEHC Trails – 5 miles – Second run was the same as the first, but a little bit faster. I got 10 in for the day and let my legs recover a little bit, but still stayed on the hillier trails to try and keep my legs used to the up and down to be ready for Saturday.
Friday, April 6: GEHC Trails – 6 miles – I really wanted to get up and get my run done in the morning but ended up sleeping an extra 45 minutes and running after work. I changed it up a little bit today and went with two loops of the GEHC trails starting with the homesite trail to the creekside trail, up onto the paved section of the Cherokee trail, past the tree top adventure course and on to the sweet gum trail. My legs felt heavy, but that’s to be expected the day before a race.
Saturday, April 7: Dirty Spokes Olde Rope Mill Trail Race – 9.5 miles – Amanda and I left a little bit later than I had originally planned, so we missed out on parking down at the trailhead/starting area…this did not turnout well. After walking down to the registration area I realized I needed to hit the portos, the line was wicked long and by the time I got back to our picnic table staging area to put on my singlet and shoes I had about 10 minutes before the start of the race. I warmed up for about 90 seconds and then headed over to the start. I settled down after about two miles and ran in third where I ended up finishing. The course actually wasn’t as bad as I remembered, in terms of the number of switchbacks but it was still pretty rough. I wasn’t pumped about my race but then I realized I ran about a minute faster than I did on the same course last year, so that was positive. I cooled down three miles and ended up running another three when we got home. After the race I saw a flier for the Mountain Goat race series, which has a 9 mile race in Acworth, GA next weekend. I’m not sure yet but I think I might drive out and jump in it just for spits and whistles.
PM – GEHC Trails – 3 miles – Due to the fact that I didn’t get a chance to warm up and with the ruggedness of the course I decided to do a three mile shakeout after we got home. 12+ miles on the day.
Sunday, April 8: Ft. Yargo State Park – 14 miles – After yesterday’s race I wanted to get something nice and easy in on Sunday, so I went to Ft. Yargo and double looped the hiking trail for 14 again. I actually felt pretty good despite the tough race, but I think the fact that I did a short shakeout when we got home helped. Stopped at Krispy Kreme for some Easter donuts before getting home then cleaned up the kitchen and bathroom. Hit Mellow Mushroom for lunch (they have the best BBQ chicken pizza I have ever had) then just laid low for the rest of the day.
Weekly Totals: 71 miles on nine runs – I feel really good about this week. I hit 70 miles, which is right where I want to be. Looking back on Saturday’s race, I feel good about that too. Granted I got steam rolled by the eventual winner and ran some of the early part of the race a little soft and ended up leaving myself with too much work to do I still made the podium and ran faster than I did on that course last year. I have accepted the fact that there are going to be days that I only have time to run 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening so I am hoping to make sure that I am running at least 10 a day even if its split up with some longer runs on the weekends. I think that is definitely doable for the next couple of months until it starts to get really hot and I have to move to just AM runs. Next week, I’m looking to hit 70-75 miles and maybe throw in a race on Saturday (maybe not), I’m kind of on the fence but I figure I’ll make a decision on Thursday. I’ll also plan on throwing in another 30-60-90 workout. This time I’m going to run at Gainesville State to prep for the next race in the Dirty Spokes series in two weeks.
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