Las Vegas RnR Training - Week 6 and 7

Today is Turkey day.  Today is also mid-week seven.  Las Vegas RnR is ten days away ...  The last couple of weeks I focused on running not much else.  I think my bootcamp experiment last Saturday wasn't the brightest idea because although the soreness is gone, the legs feels tighter than they had.  I ran them too hard the last couple of weeks I think.  I read a post from Hal Higdon today about how a lot of people believe they have to train hard all the time.  I am probably one of these people lol.  I played dodgeball at the gym this morning it was a lot of fun.  My gym closed early for turkey day so when the game was over I found myself wondering where to go for my scheduled 4 miler ... I settled on the Everett marina and off I went.

It was a cold windy day out there.  I did the loop along the Navy base then via Grand avenue, Legion Park and back so the entire loop was about 6.5 miles ... It's a nice little route.  I ran it fast, under 56 minutes so it was close to my 10k pace.  I struggled some to keep the pace.  I didn't need to run that fast and I went over the schedule.  So yeah, I am one of these people that train hard all the time.  Could had use a easier run today.  Higdon advise recreational runners need days that they run short an easy, to run relaxed, to avoid burn out.  Seven weeks into the training I am starting to feel the strain.  I was wondering during my run if maybe I just need to train on a 6 - 7 weeks schedule rather than 8 to 12 weeks.  I seemed to be peaking at 8 weeks for the BBM and this time around it seems I have been the best at week 6 ... It'll be interesting to see how it goes for the Las Vegas marathon.  My goal is really for a strong finish.  That means not so much faster finish rather than finishing in better shape, stronger (less pain, less fatigue and less soreness afterwards).

Nevertheless I should  make sure I incorporate easy runs.  Maybe markup the scheduled easy days as a reminder.  Then if the day feels like a hard run then make it a hard one lol.  Now that I signed up for the last chance marathon Dec 31st, it'll be interesting to see how I feel with a 4 weeks training schedule.  Well ... Not much training in 4 weeks since the first is for recovery and the last for taper ...  But for now I should focus on Las Vegas, right? ... Run easy runs this week end ... easy runs next week ... Have fun in Vegas ... Meet people and run a great marathon !  

Well ta ta for now everyone ... Enjoy your Turkey day ... Happy feasting ... Happy running !

SBF-runs celebrates 1000 miles ran 127k cal burned!

De-Constructing JM ...

Today was my 4th therapy session and I took some time to reflect on how strong my body is growing.  Saturday morning I attended the Boot Camp class at Emerald City Athletic Club.   The format changed since the last boot camp I attended there a few months back.  We were herded on the basketball court instead of the group X workout room.  There were five or six instructors attending the entire group of 40 or so members of all shapes and fitness levels.  Throughout the class the instructors shouted they were gonna kill some quads and destroy some calves ... We did lunges, squats, jumps, laps and everything in between ... 100% legs.  I worked through the workout.  My knees held strong, my legs leapfrogged me through the last evolution ... Boot camp kicked my ass no doubt.  But I had more in me so I went out for my scheduled six miler.  Then later we went down to Seattle Pike's Market ... walked around a couple of hours, still I was standing strong.  That was Saturday.

Sunday morning came, I could barely move.  Couldn't recall when was last I had been so sore lol ... Nevertheless, with some encouragement from SGF I headed out for my 16 miler.  It was a slow start no doubt.  I worked out a local (flatter) route in my head.  The key to get me going and keeping me going the first few miles was ... small strides lol  I could feel my calves wanting to cramp, my IT band wanting  to snap out of my leg ... my quads yelling murder at me.  I stopped for stretching when the pain started to feel sharp and walk thirty seconds or so then started running again.   I will own up .. the last few miles I was singing along to some country songs ... there is so much drama in country songs even the pain of your legs falling apart is dull in comparison to 'em cowboys broken hearts lol  

Looking at the map of the run the route wasn't as flat as I expected ... 716 feet climb though which I maintained a good pace though throughout despite my legs' condition.  The average pace fluctuated more than my last runs yet I maintained marathon pace over the distance.  The run was hard because of the amount of soreness I had but the run didn't feel like a stretch either (no pun intended ... well yeah a little pun intended really ah ah) ... or maybe there was a stretch but I want to remember it less of a stretch lol ...  Strong body.  Stronger mind!

When the base of your sport is so mental can there be too much mind over matter sometimes?  I think this training cycle the highlight has been anti-climatic.  As it isn't my expected performance or some of the great runs I had, it's the strength I am recovering/building in my body, it is how a few weeks of therapy is improving the quality of my run.  Because I know I have that power in me to burry pain and discomfort at such a deep level and remain functional I keep looking past them, but to the people that love me it may look like recklessness.  I could had been running myself into the ground just dealing with my knee pain on a mental level and fine with it.  But I am glad that in a moment of clarity I listened to the people that love me and sought help for my knees !

So I dedicate my de-constructing JM run Sunday to you !