Miles

Lunch run today with Becky, Raph, and Paul. The American Odyssey Relay is looming next week and it falls right in the middle of my training calendar. I rationalized that 20 miles in 24 hours at a decent race pace is equivalent to 20 miles in a single shot. Raph is also training for a marathon in Pittsburgh in a few weeks, so we are in a similar boat. His training follows more of a Crossfit Endurance type plan, although I don't think that's his intention. Last year he ran the marathon on minimal training in just over three hours. This year, I think he intends on repeating his plan from last year, perhaps with slightly more volume. He doesn't really include long runs in his training, rather he incorporates moderate distance runs done at tempo pace (10-14 miles) with some hill repeats and 800m intervals sprinkled throughout the week.

He has some background as either a track/cross country runner in high school and college, so I'm sure his rules don't apply to many others, but still interesting to see that he has had some success with this type of training. He is still accumulating 50+ miles per week, however. I'd like to try this type of training plan in the future, since it seems these longs runs just leave me feeling incredibly sore for days on end.

The run today was a 5 mile loop through the quarry and the nature preserve with the three of them. Raph and I added on a 3 mile loop down Flat Rd. and onto Lapp Rd at the end. Good weather, good run, but I was feeling the heaviness in my legs towards the end. I also found myself lagging behind the rest of the group during the early trail portion of the run, but convinced myself that I was running my own pace. Seems to work more for my mental confidence.

Solo Malvern Run

A solo run in the rain through the quarry and the nature preserve today. I can easily remember the days when I was missing turns left and right. Now the heavily traveled route seems like second nature to me. I still can't consider myself an expert back here, but it's good to know I can head out on my own and find my way around. Of course the rain brought lots of mud and bigger creeks, but the wind wasn't so bad once I reached the protection of the trees. I had anticipated 70 degree weather all week and didn't pack anything but shorts and a tee. I opted to take the Brokeback portion of the trail (the first time I realized where the turnoff was) and finished with a sprint up the final hill in the park before cooling down for the last 1/2 mile.

My legs still felt pretty heavy, but at least the stiffness dissipated after a few minutes of warmup. About 4.5 miles in 40 minutes.

Early evening

Loss to Zero Defects tonight. Didn't play as well as we did last week, although they hit a ton of three-pointers. I think this drops us to second place, but I guess it doesn't really matter in the end. We beat the first place team handily twice already this season. Hoping for the best.

Nature Preserve

Rainy, muddy run through the quarry and the Nature Preserve with Chris and Paul. I should probably make it more of a habit to check the weather forecast in the mornings, but I never really plan for anything. All I brought with me today was a long shirt, shorts, a hat, and Mt101s. Of course no socks. Today might as well be as good a day as any to go sockless and hope I don't develop any blisters. As it turns out, I didn't get any despite the fact that my shoes seem to be just slightly loose. Might have to start trying this more often. The only down side of the MT101s is that in muddy conditions, they offer almost no ankle stability. This particular route has lots of steep uphill and downhill sections and the latter usually culminate in a sharp turn at the bottom which means you really have to trust your footing in order to plant and turn. Of course I have no confidence at this point, so I probably looked a bit like a ballerina tiptoe-ing down the hill trying desperately not to build up too much speed before inevitably face-planting in the mud. Luckily, it went OK and I had no spills.

We got to talking about preparations for the AOR relay at the end of April and many of the logistics still need to be worked out. For some odd reason, I realized that this will be one of the first races I've been in since Broad Street last year. Not terribly frightening, but remarkable nonetheless.

Should be about 5 miles in 42:48

Upswing

Early morning

AMRAP 7 minutes
5 burpees
10 Deadlifts (80)
8 rounds

AMRAP 7 minutes
15 Double Unders
10 OH Lunges (35)
5 High Low Planks
6 + 20 rounds

AMRAP 7 minutes
15 Box Jumps
10 OH Presses (55)
5 Plank Jacks
7 rounds

Early afternoon

Short trail run with Chris and Paul this afternoon. Runs like today make you realize that you're body doesn't always perform like it's indicating it might. After this morning's workout, I was doubting running, but wanted to hit a certain weekly mileage total. Fearing my legs would quickly fill up with lead, I decided against better judgement to venture out onto the trails. The monsoon-like conditions had left the quarry and nature preserve a veritable swamp-fest. My "jump-right-in" mindset over the past few days came in pretty useful, as entire stretches of trail were submerged in over-flowing creeks and mud that surged almost up to my shins in a few instances.

Honestly, it was the best run all week. My legs felt better than they have in forever during a run. When you factor in this week's activities, I would say that I'm finally on the upswing of what has been almost a year-long cardiovascular depression. Maybe it's too early to make that call. Maybe I should knock on wood before my long run on Sunday. But it just feels good to feel good about running again.