Wednesday, April 24, 2013

My first 20+ miler around Manhattan and The Me Toos

~Penny

Wow, I have three weeks of training to recap, which involved hating running, loving running, borderline injury and possible overtraining. Aren't you in for a thrilling read.

*thousands of eager faces nod adoringly at the running blogger's wit and enthusiasm*

So getting back from San Diego, I was feeling pretty good, but not brilliant. I was pleased at my recovery from the 16 mile trail run with Kristen. But then... I began hating running.

March 31-April 6, 2013
Sunday: 16 mile trail run
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 9 miles easy at 8:20 avg pace
Wednesday: 3x2 miles at HM pace with 400m recoveries.  Splits: First interval: 7:04, 6:47, second interval: 6:57, 6:59, third interval: 6:55, 6:54. Avg Pace: 6:56. Windy horrible day, (18mph) and just felt yuck.
Thursday: Leg + core strength
Friday: tempo:  12 miles total, with 10 miles at 7:20 pace. Felt horrible again, windy, possibly stopped to cry at one point.
Saturday: 9 miles easy at 8:45 pace (felt like 9:45)
Total: 56 miles

Then, I decided to do my one and only 20+ miler for the training cycle. I also decided to add a podcast or two to to my runs (thank you NPR). Perhaps I was just bored or something, but running started to feel great again!

April 7-13, 2013
Sunday: 21 miles AROUND THE WHOLE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN at 8:30avg pace. Stopped a bunch of times for water/bathroom, but finished at a strong pace of 7:30-45!




















This was basically the route I did.

I got some great views of my normal Westside run, as well as the bridges on the East side:



Aaaaand the rest of the week began to feel much more optimistic.....
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 9 miles easy, 8:20 pace
Wednesday: Tempo with 10 miles at 7:16 average pace, 12 miles total. Incredibly encouraging run, especially after the 21 miles.
Thursday: rest
Friday: 60 mins elliptical. Skipped threshold workout.
Saturday: 9 miles in Central Park, 8:15 avg pace.
 Total: 51 miles

Until.....uh oh, something was up with my groin/hip flexor again after my tempo run. I tried to take it easy. But the next week, running really began to suck. Not only did my groin/hip flexor not get better (though not really any worse) I began to feel sooooo slow on my runs. Legs heavy. I was also travelling from New York to Tennessee then to Boston.... so my legs suffered from being cramped up all day, and I didnt get enough rest. Boo hoo me.

April 14-20, 2013
Sunday: 16 miles at 8:20 pace
Monday: 40 mins elliptical
Tuesday: rest 
Wednesday: Threshold workout. 2x3miles at HM pace. I only hit 7:02 avg pace, with only one split in the 6s. And it felt craaaaaap. Previous workouts have had me comfortably sitting at 6:55. 
Thursday: rest
Friday:  attempted tempo. With winds at about 20mph, I decided to run to the gym. Unfortunately my leg lock came back (for the first time in ages) and prevented me from doing much more than about 1-2 miles at a time, and my mind-numb prevented me from doing more than 6 miles at 7:18 pace with 1% incline. 9 miles total.
Saturday: 8 miles at 8:45 which felt like 8:00. Ugh.
Total: 42 miles

So there you have it. This week I've already racked up one crappy long run, and quit a highly shitful threshold workout, where I couldn't even hit HM pace. Im feeling like crap and wondering - like Kristen was - if I am a teensey bit overtrained. I have run longer than the Hanson plans prescribe, but thought that would be ok, as I was doing fewer runs per week (I just cant handle more than 5 days running at this point).

Goal for now is to eat enough (I have not been good about this, and lost a couple of pounds), sleep enough (same), and at least enjoy the last two weeks of spring marathon training in New York!



My beloved Hudson river trail

1 comment:

  1. Lovely! It's fun to watch the seasons change in NY via your pictures of the Hudson River Trail!

    ReplyDelete