Weekly Wrap-Up: October 16-22

Fall finally arrived on Tuesday. I just had to get through a lot of rain on Monday. My newest shoes (my 4th pair of Adrenaline 17s) got baptized.

Oh, I signed up for my next race after New York City, the Trophy Trot 10K in Raleigh on Thanksgiving. It looks like I’ll be the only one running, while the rest of my family will be drinking, as the race gets its name from Trophy Brewing. I’ll join in after the race, of course.

The taper is technically underway, although this week was still a decent amount of mileage.

Weight Check: 165.1 pounds, down 0.6 from last week. Slightly fewer miles in weather that won’t make me sweat as much, and I still had a small loss. I’ll gladly take it. I did manage one day with no Mountain Dew, so there’s that.

This Week’s Runs
Day Scheduled Total Miles
Monday 6 miles easy 6.01
Tuesday Tempo Run, 2 miles easy, 2 x 2 miles at half marathon pace (9:40-9:50/mile) with 3 minutes in between, then easy running until I hit 7 miles 7.01
Wednesday 6 miles easy 6.01
Friday 5 miles easy 5.01
Saturday 16 mile long run, first 10 miles at an easy pace, last 6 miles at marathon pace (11:00-11:15/mile) 16.01

Total: 40.05 miles

Monday was very wet. I was way overdue for a run in the rain. It started out pretty heavy, then it eased up a little after about the first mile, but it never stopped. My legs were pretty tired, which I expected after last week’s 20 miler. I think I ran the fastest during the first mile because that’s when the rain was the heaviest and I subconsciously sped up. Other than that, I kept the effort easy until my usual push near the end. It wasn’t the most fun I’ve had while running, but I survived. Also, I’m thankful for the taper, because my Monday runs had been 7 miles for the past couple of months, and I’m glad I only had to deal with the rain for 6 miles instead of 7.

Like I mentioned above, Tuesday finally felt like fall. 48 degrees and low humidity. It felt amazing. My legs weren’t quite 100%, but they were good enough. I managed to increase my pace on each mile of the intervals, and I was under my goal pace on each one.

Wednesday was 30 degrees cooler than last week, just 43. I had to break out one of my long sleeved shirts for the first time since…April? Maybe even March? Anyway, my legs were a little tired from the previous day’s workout, and I really felt it on the uphills. My pace seemed a little inconsistent, but overall, a pretty good run.

On Friday, I had more great weather, 44 degrees. My legs felt decent. I’m not sure what happened on mile 3, which was a little slow, but otherwise, a good solid run with a slightly better pace at the end.

And Saturday, I went out there and crushed it.

The weather was really nice at the beginning (47 degrees), but it did warm up. Still, it was a welcome change to do most of my long run while it was under 60 degrees. Anyway, my legs felt decent, although they got pretty tired near the end.

I had no stomach issues. I had Gu at around 4, 8, and 12 miles.

The first 10 miles were pretty good. I was maybe a little faster on mile 2 than I should have been, but otherwise, my pace was decent. The two slowest miles were the ones when I stopped for Gu, and I squeezed in one extra water stop during mile 10 to get ready for the last part.

I was really happy with the last 6 miles. The slowest mile was the one where I stopped for Gu, and I still hit my goal pace (actual time for that mile was 11:14.7). And my last mile was the fastest, 10:19.

The weather made a huge difference this week, but I’m still happy with my runs.

Next week, the taper really kicks in, with only a 10 mile long run, but I still have an 8 mile workout run that’s mostly at marathon pace.