Weekly Wrap-Up: September 25-October 1

You know the Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times”? This past week was interesting times. The running was pretty good. Everything else was…well, the running was pretty good.

Weight Check: I ended up going to visit my parents Saturday afternoon and didn’t get home until late Sunday afternoon. That meant I had to do my official weigh-in on Saturday, before my long run. So, uh 169.2, up 4.2 pounds from last week. It was a rough week, and I didn’t have a long run to cancel out at least some of the damage. Next week will be better.

This Week’s Runs
Day Scheduled Total Miles
Monday 7 miles easy 7.01
Tuesday Fartlek, 15 minute warm up, 3 x 8 minutes comfortably hard with 3 minutes easy in between, 15 minute cool down (until I reach 7 miles) 7.01
Wednesday 7 miles easy 7.01
Friday 6 miles easy 6.01
Saturday 20 mile long run 20.01

Total: 47.05 miles

Monday, the weather was slightly cooler but still humid. My legs felt surprisingly OK, considering how poorly my long run had gone two days earlier. Once I got through the first mile, I ran pretty well. I kept the effort easy except for the last quarter mile.

On Tuesday, the weather was kind of warm and still pretty humid. My legs felt OK until around the 3rd interval, then they got really tired. I didn’t quite hit the goal pace (8:50/mile), but I think the weather slowed me down just a little bit. Still, I think it went fairly well.

Wednesday, the weather wasn’t great. My legs recovered surprisingly well from yesterday’s workout, though. My pace was a little slower than usual due to the temperature, but I got through it, and was able to speed up a little bit at the end.

Also, it was a minor miracle that I even got out there, let alone that I ended up with a fairly respectable pace for the weather conditions, but that’s a story for another day. (See my comments about the week in general.)

Friday had slightly improved weather. My legs felt fine. I tried to relax a bit. My coach had posted a webinar about the mental aspects of running, and that was one of my takeaways. It seemed to help a little, especially with the first mile. I still kept the effort easy until the last quarter mile or so.

And on Saturday, I really needed a good long run. With 20 miles on the schedule, I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off.

I lucked out on the weather. It was better, especially the lower humidity. My legs were tired for most of the run.

I had Gu at around 4, 8, 12, and 16, and water roughly every mile. I completely spaced out and missed a planned water stop around 11, but I don’t think it hurt too much. Also, I had planned on making the stop before 18 my last stop.

It was really slow, and like I said, my legs were tired most of the time. But other than before and after my water stops, I didn’t take any walk breaks. I was even able to speed up a little bit at the end.

In the end, I ran 20 miles, and I didn’t blow up. It wasn’t pretty, but it was the long run that I needed.

Next week, I’ve got a tempo run and an 18 miler. Also, I need to post the September wrap-up. I did reach a couple of milestones, but man, it was a rough month.