Training Update: February

Shortly after my last visit to the local college's track, demolition of the old grandstands and nearby trees began. The track team was out practicing when Matt and I arrived and they informed us that we can use part of the track, a measly 110 yard straightaway on the opposite side of the field. That would not work for any of the runs we had planned. Deflated, Matt and I headed home to do a fartlek run instead. The track coach reassures us it will reopen soon, but it took several weeks before we returned.

The silver lining in all of this is I've resumed tempo runs. I know, I can't believe it either. I hate them. Or at least I used to. Those things which I dread the most are those that make me strongest. For me, that's definitely the tempo run. And squats. And a focus on eating around one hundred grams of protein (almost double what I'm used to) per day). Apparently all that stuff together makes me faster.

Here's a look at the weekly breakdown of workouts and mileage. Until the half marathon on February 18th, mileage had remained on the lighter side so I could be rested enough to tackle more difficult speed sessions. Now that full marathon training has resumed, mileage will creep higher until the taper.

January 22-28: 35.25 miles

Long Run:

• 11.75 miles including Trinidad to Clam Beach Run.

Y. Kim, SRRC photo.

Speed: 

• 6.5 miles, middle three fartlek: 1 min fast: 1 min easy: Backup plan for the track workout we had originally scheduled. Nothing too exciting, but wow was it wet and windy. Took the hillier route through town. 

• Trinidad to Clam Beach 8.75 Mile Race: 1:08:28. Looking back at it now, it's no wonder this day was plagued with breathing issues.

XT:

•  Snowshoe 5.5 miles, 2:25. Snowshoe to the Table Mountain lookout tower. Followed snowmobile tracks most of the way so it was pretty leisurely.

Notes: This week began in southern Oregon and ended back at home. Every time we return home after more than a day away, it seems I have to re-acclimate to the mold, as ridiculous as it sounds. I discussed this with my allergist a few days later and she confirmed that not only is it possible, it's a pretty common problem for her patients. Who knew?

January 29-February 4: 61.5 miles

Long Run:

•  15 miles, 2:09:47, 8:37/mi. Another fifteen miler, the longest I planned to go until after the Rogue River Half. Due to the weather, I ended up running a speed workout the day before this one. After the run, I had a scary moment in the shower when I almost fainted. Turns out, I had a huge bruise on my left foot from moving furniture a few days before. As the warm water dilated my foot's blood vessels, my foot swelled up and I almost fainted. I was fine after lunch and some water. I spent the day with my foot elevated and took a couple days off of running after that to let it begin to heal.

Speed:

• 6.5 miles, 5 @ 7:18/mi. First speed workout after TCB. I did a short warmup at home, tucked my rescue inhaler in my pocket, and took off. No problems breathing at all. After my fifth mile, I did slow it down, cough up a ton of phlegm (almost choked on it, what a sight I was), and finished my cooldown. This was the first half pace workout where I considered running farther than my plan suggested! That’s nice to see!

• 8 miles, middle four fartlek: 1 min fast: 1 min easy This run was very windy. The first half of the fartlek felt fast and effortless, the return trip left my max effort pace at an 8:00/mi. It also flared up my asthma and made my lungs cranky for the next few days.

XT:

•  Does trail running count? No? The first week in 2017 without any cross training.

Notes: After such a terrible race, I was really concerned about lingering effects on my other workouts. Once I adjusted my medications, things improved quickly.

February 5-11: 41 miles

Long Run:

• 10 miles, 1:25:58, 8:36/mi. I attended a swim clinic earlier in the day so I kept the long run shorter than I would have otherwise.

Speed:

• 7 miles, 6@7:17/mi. Last tempo before the taper to Rogue River. Beautiful day with shorts and a tank top!! I nabbed another Strava CR. Now I’m queen both directions! I felt a little raspy and sore at the end but manageable.

• 7.25 miles, middle 4 fartlek: 1 min fast: 1 min easy. Didn’t decide to do this one until the last minute. Ran fifteen pickups in all, between a 6:30-6:40 pace. Not bad for one of those disgusting soaker runs I almost skipped. It was a big help to have Matt block the wind through the tough parts.

XT:

• 7 miles bike. Kept Matt company during his pace run. This is the only way I can keep up. :)
  

• 60 min swim. Worked on stroke efficiency and drills. Now if only I could get myself to the pool more often to practice.

Notes: Mini peak week before the half taper. Extra rainy weather helped my allergies/asthma and I went into the taper feeling optimistic about the race.


February 12-18: 23.25 miles

Snuggled up next to the heater.

Long Run:

• 14 miles including Rogue River Half Marathon.

Speed:

• 4.25 miles, 2@7:05/mi. Ran with Matt and Rachel. I'm impressed how much easier this pace has been for me this year. Maybe tempo runs aren't so horrible after all. :)

XT:

• A few light walks? Matt and I spent the latter half of the week wandering around near the yurt, but I don't find it necessary to keep track of walking mileage.

Notes: I never know what to say about taper weeks. I ate like a queen, rested like a pro, and tried to bring the best version of myself to the race on Saturday.

February 19-25: 22 miles

High desert trail run outside of Bend, OR.

Long Run:

• None. It didn't seem necessary. Read below.

Speed:

• 7.25 miles including 4x880yds and 4x440yds. The track has been closed for about a month while they do some landscaping near the stadium. Apparently, someone felled their trees on the track because there are huge bumps, some as high as three inches tall, all over the place. Only a few are in lane 1, where I do my workout, so it didn’t slow me down much but I was careful on where I put my feet. I haven’t had a chance to write about it yet, but I took a few nasty spills during our ski trip and think I pulled something in my back. After the first four reps, I decided to half the interval and finish my third fast mile with quarter miles instead. 
  

XT:

I spent most of the week on skis. The first day was intense and I spent a lot of time looking just like this.

• Backcountry ski 7 miles, 4:52. Blizzard conditions and breaking trail through 6-10" new snow.
• Backcountry ski 8 miles, 6:24. Same, minus a few hills, only 10-15" new snow.
• Backcountry ski 6.5 miles, 3:21. Downhill most of the way through 10" new snow. Then following some tracks (!!!!!!!!!!!!).

Notes: From a structured training standpoint, this week was a mess. If I were more rigid about my training, I'd never do something like this but I choose to keep some flexibility and throw in some real adventure. This week was both fun and challenging. I have no doubts that it will help my training. A full recap of the ski portion is forthcoming.

February 26-March 4: 55 miles

Sunday's trail run. This trail has been underwater all winter so we came prepared for a swim.

Long Run: 

• 20 miles, 2:37:42, 8:23/mi. Fast Finish: Miles 13-19: 8:32— >7:21. My fastest fast finish ever. Fastest overall 20 miler too. Felt incredible! LOVE LOVE LOVE.

I'm really proud of this one! :)

Speed:

• 9 miles, 8@7:41/mi. A tiny bit too fast, but doable. I knew that bumping up the training paces would hurt a little. Definitely felt it on this run.

• 7 miles, including 3.3@6:56/mi. I used my tempo run to best my own Strava CR. The segment plus distance from my house gives it that uneven distance. I'm already seeing changes in effort level at these faster paces so I may substitute tempo runs for track workouts more often. After all, the goal is to make marathon pace feel easier, so I could use any variety of longer speed session.

XT:

• 10 mile bike ride. Again, pacing Matt. After Boston, I plan to get some faster rides in so I don't end up riding the bike portion of the triathlon at 10 mph. :)

•  3 mile ski, 1:29. After the last few skis, this one felt easy and enjoyable. Perfect snow day. I do not regret ditching a ninety minute run to weave through the trees on our local mountain.

I can't resist a good Choose Your Own Adventure Day.

Trinity Alps are looking gorgeous this year.

Notes: Back to structured training with a little playtime. It's still my goal to get some cross training in each week.

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I rounded out February with 156.25 miles. While that is quite a bit lower than it usually is for this point in training, none of the cross training efforts are included. They definitely contributed to my endurance base so I'm not concerned. I'm hesitant to say my hip has fully recovered, but the varied training has definitely helped. Now it's a rare day my hip talks to me. I'd like to keep it that way.

My next race is Foggy Bottom on March 12th. I'm waiting to see what the weather does this week before making a final race decision. Distance options are 10 miles (would run marathon pace for some or all of it) or 4 miles (would race as tempo run).