Peak Week Training

Without warning, my appetite skyrockets and that familiar soreness returns to my legs. It always takes a few weeks to settle in, but by the final high mileage week, it is always there. This last peak week took me by surprise....again.

Zoey was happy I reinstated nap time.

This training cycle has been unusual. I bulked up my base in January and February, preparing to train for a 50 mile race. When that didn't work out, I maintained 50+ mile weeks trying to figure out what I wanted to do. By the time mid-March came around, I made the decision to run the Avenue of the Giants Marathon. That base and regular speed training I was already doing paid off because instead of just six weeks of training before the taper, it really was more like 18 even though I didn't realize it in the early months of the year.

Last week was the second of two 65 mile weeks. Since my allergies are still a factor, I decided on the longer three week taper rather than two. I'd rather be rested and under-trained than tired and broken.

Sunday: 13.25 miles, 1:56:06, 8:46/mi.

After running the first half of the course last Sunday, it seemed fitting to run the second half of the course too. Matt, Rachel, and I were accompanied by Matt's brother, Craig, who was visiting from Chicago. We got our run in and he got to admire the redwoods while riding alongside us. It was the day after a race, so my legs were sore and slower than normal, but putting a 13 mile run in the beginning of the week definitely helped to lighten the load for the rest of the week.


Monday: 2 mile hike. 

On Craig's last day, we took a trip north to hike Trinidad Head. Since it was technically supposed to be my rest day, we chose an easy hike and meandered our way through it.

It was a nice day for enjoying the beach, the rocky outcropping, and a mashed potato cone for lunch afterward.

Lighthouse Grill, Trinidad. If you're in the area, you need to try one!

Tuesday: Run 11 miles 1:27:37, including 10 @ 7:49/mi. 6 kitties.

This one was windy and made my lungs very angry, but I soldiered through this final pace run before I taper. I celebrated by making my registration for the marathon official.


Wednesday: Run 6 miles, 58:48, 9:48/mi.

The seals loved the warm day too!

It was a gorgeous day so the Wednesday run group took to the beach instead. It was 80 at my house, so that left it in the mid 70s next to the ocean. People were everywhere, it looked like a Southern California beach!

2 mile walk: I tried to soak up as much of the weather as I could so I went for a walk while the Subaru got an oil change. There were too many half naked people out and I was harassed by three sketchy dudes. Eww. It's sad that a woman going solo in the wilderness is safer than on city sidewalks. Man truly is the most dangerous animal. Once I got home, I stayed there until I left for my run.


Thursday: Run 9 miles, 1:09:22, including 9x880 yds.
Half mile repeat day! Since Matt’s race is two weeks before mine, here’s where our workouts begin to differ. He’s on the taper and I’m in my last peak week. I was shooting for 8-10 half mile repeats, but it got chilly and he was sick of waiting for me so I stopped at nine. That’s three more than last time, so it worked out for me.

The track was so busy! There was a coaching clinic, the soccer team was out, and the football team was doing drills. Normally I have to share the track with a few meandering deer, so this was different. It’s also why my first repeat (my fastest ever, btw) was way too quick. I made sure to reel myself in for the rest of them. Highlighted above are my repeat times. I take manual splits at the line. If I wanted to rely on my Garmin, I wouldn’t come to the track at all. :)

Note: I run my repeats on a 440 yard track. 440yds=402m. That means I’m allowed to be a couple seconds slower on each repeat if I’m running an 800m workout. :) Funny thing is: If I run on the local high school track, which is 400m, I can actually tell the difference.

Strength: Core, legs. 

Friday: Run 6 miles, not timed. 18 kitties.
It was a sluggish and easy day before the long run. Ran with Rachel and Matt and I'm not sure my legs woke up at all.

Saturday: Run 22 miles, 3:09:53, 8:38/mi. 22 kitties.

Twenty-two miles with Rachel. We picked up the pace gradually through the last few miles. I don’t remember pushing it much at all during the last one so 8:06 was a pleasant surprise.

The hardest part about this run: Freeing myself from the sweaty sports bra when I got home.

Totals:
Running: 67.25 miles.
Hiking/walking: 4 miles.
Kitties: 46

Notes: My allergies started to flare up during a few windy days mid-week, but I completed all the runs I had scheduled. I'm only two days into the taper right now, but I'm looking forward to carb-loading between now and May 1st.

...starting with sourdough pretzels.