Training Log - February 11 - February 17

Monday, February 11: Flowery Branch Roads – 8 miles – Ran the standard FB road route. I’m definitely getting tired of this run after running it a ton during the season. I need to check out some other runs in the area, unfortunately there are only a few options around the office. I added a figure eight loop of the complex to make it a full 8 and ended up being 8.5.

Tuesday, February 12: Flowery Branch Roads – 8 miles – Basically the same run as yesterday. Nothing too exciting.

Wednesday, February 13: Cash Road Loop – 10 miles – I tried out a new route from the office where I headed down towards the fire station and took a right on Martin road then ran up to Winder highway to Union Church road then back up Cash road through the middle school and back to the office.

Thursday, February 14: Little Mulberry Park – 8 miles – I got out of work a little early today, so I hit up Little Mulberry Park for an easy 8. I ran from the Hamilton Mill side of the park, starting CCW around the lake to the equestrian trail, up to the XC course, to the ridge trail, back down the paved path and back on the XC course to the second half of the equestrian trail. Once I got back to the lake loop I closed out the loop over the dam and back to the car. This is a great run, it’s got a little bit of everything, paved path, hilly trails, cross country trail and crushed gravel trail. It also features the highest point in Gwinnett County, or so I am told.  

Friday, February 15: Satellite Loop – 9 miles – This was a new route from the apartment. I ran up past the GEHC to Woodward Mill then took a left on to Satellite Boulevard. I ran along Satellite then took a right onto Smithtown road back over to Westbrook and back up to Old Suwanee Road. From there I jumped back on Woodward Mill and up to the GEHC then back down to the greenway behind the house. I started out wanting to work the up hills and ended up with a pretty solid tempo run. I finished up at 55:06 for nine, which was 6:05 avg. pace, including a couple under six. Nothing earth shattering but it was good to run hard for almost an hour in a state of comfortable discomfort. I felt like I was working hard but it was at a pace that I could keep up. Overall it was a good run. I am still a little worried about next week’s half marathon, but at least this was a step in the right direction.

Saturday, February 16: GEHC Trails – 8 miles – Recovery run. Nice and easy. It was really cold, nothing like what all my friends back home are dealing with but below 20 with the wind chill at times. Of course it was about 40 by the time I finished. Cold day for down here.

Sunday, February 17: Town Center Out & Back – 14 miles – Same run as last week. I ran out to the Greenway on the Suwanee back roads the out to Martin Farm Rd, then back through Town Center park, back onto the greenway and back home. This is a nice route that has some flexibility to become longer in the future. It was nice and peaceful on a Sunday, not may cars and only a few other people out running or riding. It was another colder day but it warmed up as I got going. The wind was the worst part. Low to mid 20s with the wind, but again mid-30s, pushing 40 by the end.

Weekly Totals: 65 miles on seven runs – Another solid week in the books. Unfortunately, I don’t think solid is going to cut it for this upcoming half marathon. I guess we will see. I’m happy with the progress I’ve made. I’ve now run three straight weeks of 60+ miles, so like I said, progress. What I need to try and do is increase my mileage. I’ve found a good plan of running in the afternoons either from work, stopping somewhere on the way home or running from home. If I can get my mileage up to 10 on most days with one run I’ll do that for a little while, at least until it starts getting lighter a little earlier, then I’ll go back to running in the morning and afternoon. Doing clips is a pain in the ass, but I made it work last year, so I’ll just have to figure it out. Next week, I need to get my mileage up and hopefully survive the half. Then I’ll focus on getting things into gear for Dirty Spokes and road races.