The first 5 miles were not great. Last week the first 8 miles were good; normal. Today started out with sore, tired legs and there was a lot of walking at the start.
The down hill from the Carter Hill was tough on my quads, too. I’m not sure if I was still injured from falling yesterday on my hike or if my legs were just fatigued.
Strava data
The route was pretty much a tour of Penacook and Concord.
Contoocook River
When I circled back to Concord I knew I was going to have to do four more miles but I didn’t have the will to go back out of town so I ran around Concord.
Coming back into town the wind was at my back. I ran past the State House and home to complete 20 miles! I’m beat.
The week started off rough but got better after Tuesday. My calf injury is completely healed and I resumed my training plan. YEAH!
Wednesday and Thursday intervals were run OUTSIDE!
The ice and snow has gone from the roadways but the trails are another matter.
My Saturday and Sunday long runs were on the road. The trails are a mess after 60 degree temperatures on Friday.
Spikes are needed on the trails. So much ice!
After running 18 miles and 1,200 feet of elevation gain, I ran well on Sunday with a 10 mile run and very little elevation gain.
Saturday stats
Leadville is 14,000 feet of elevation gain so next week I’m going to beef up the elevation and head to the mountains on Sunday for a 4,000 footer hike/run.
I booked my flight and car for Leadville and Mark has booked his flight. So this is happening!
This Week:
Average Weight: 156
Average Resting Heart Rate: 51
Training Time: 9:30 (includes hiking) – no weights this week 🙁
Ran on the treadmill for the week day runs and no weights. Saturday and Sunday were outside runs.
I had some weird adductor discomfort and decided to take a recovery week, so no weight workouts.
Saturday’s run was awesome on the trails. On Sunday I woke to a feeling that the snow was going to start earlier than the forecast suggested, with dark skies and clouds. I decided on go out on a three mile hike with Winnie to start the day, and that is when the snow started dumping. After the hike I got home and in 30 minutes was out on the run. The roads were slick and I ran slow to stay safe. I was going to do a road loop but decided with the slick roads it would be safer to run on the trails. After about two miles on the trail I started to feel some calf pain. I must’ve tweaked something on the downhill stretch. I thought I’d try running on pavement again so I changed course to run on Pleasant for a bit then jump back on the trail. Road running didn’t help.
Running up Fisk Road to get back on the Winant Trails. The roads were very slick.
I decided to head back home and see if I could somehow manage to finish my eight mile run. At 6.3 miles I slipped on the sidewalk and fell on my right side and slid a couple feet. I got up and my first thought “that’s going to make the pain in my left calf feel not so bad”. I then decided to call it a day and head home.
I got home after running only 6.6 and my calf was pretty sore. I stretched and iced the calf. I know I’m going to wake up tomorrow and my whole body is going to ache.
I hit all my miles except for Sunday and I’m going to need to heal my calf. I probably should’ve stuck to the treadmill today but thought I was tough running in the snow and wind. I need to play the long-game.
Saturday. Training Week 24 of 25. This week has been a challenge. It should’ve been planned it as a recovery week but I wanted to keep the momentum going. Mid-week I decided to take the week off weights so I could still run the plan, and then updated the weekend running schedule with recovery distance miles.
My hip adductors have been sore and last week I thought I needed to make them stronger; I overdid it and made it worse. I’ll start weight training again next week now that the soreness is gone.
But otherwise, I did okay running this week. It was all on a treadmill, again. I incorporated the stairs this week and added a few more core exercises. Nutrition wasn’t great this week but I feel like I can get back on track this weekend.
I booked my flight and registered for the Leadville Marathon in June. June is going to be busy. The week before the marathon I’ll be in Maryland cheering on Mark at Eagleman and it will be good to recover and travel south for a bit in June.
Today is a 3-4 mile hike followed by a 10 mile run which I will try to run on trails. Later this afternoon I have a massage scheduled. Recovery TV this week is Chicago PD Season 4.
Despite everything (muscle pain, poor eating, doubt, anxiety, fear) I’m in it; I’m in this training mode for Leadville 100%.
Week 25 went much like Week 26. All three weekday runs were on the treadmill with all the snow and ice. The treadmill sessions were tough but I got it done. Two weight room workouts where I added a few more things: hip abductor exercises specifically.
I reversed last week’s 16 mile course. It was just as hard with the hills. As I got to the top of the hill I took a photo of the alpacas. So cute. How appropriate that I will see them during the Leadville race.
When I was at mile 12 a small dog got loose and wanted to run out to greet me on a busy Route 12. I had to stop and try to get him to his owner. So scary! One interesting nutrition note: I had a big breakfast with eggs, potato, peppers and onions (no toast) and it was the perfect amount of food. I only ate one gel for the 16 miles – the Muir Energy Cashew Vanilla gel. It was pretty good; a different consistency that I’m not used to.
My knee isn’t causing problems and no more neuroma pain in my left foot. YEAH!
Sunday Plan – 10 miles. I wasn’t as worried about the 10 miles leading up to the weekend since last week went so well. While I was tired, I still ran well. This Sunday started with a gorgeous hike with Winnie at Marjorie Swope trails. We encountered a few people and their dogs who were so happy to be out on such a glorious day.
Hiking in Marjory Swope Trail Park on March 3, 2019
Then, got home and headed to Winant Park to run 10.1 miles on the trails with 1,393 elevation gain. The first five miles went well, I felt great. After 5 miles I still felt strong but my legs were fatigued. I got home stretched and foam rolled. I so glad to see my heart rate normalize as I get stronger.
Average Weight: 157
Average Resting Heart Rate: 50
Training Time: 11:37 (includes hiking and weight training)
