Training has always been experimental for me. There are some athletes that follow the same plan day in and day out for their entire careers. I have never been one of those regimented souls. The unknown has too great a pull on the decisions I make in regards to my moving forward in life. This approach has not been without downsides, but what I am learning is that falling on your face is the best way to learn… even when you’ve already done it hundreds of times.
The experiment at present involves tons of mileage, mostly on trails, with lots of vertical gain and usually at a pace that most would consider pedestrian. In addition, I have been taking no rest days, I do a long run after every race and an even longer run the day following a race. In other words, I am always tired, always achy, and always looking for an excuse not to run – fortunately, I haven’t found one that holds water yet 😉
Over the past month, in the midst of this training ‘plan’, I have set numerous PR’s, won my 4th U.S.A. Masters Championship, a New England Masters Championship and garnered my best results in the New England Mountain Running Circuit to date.
After a 110 mile week last week and a 96 mile week this week, I cruised to a comfortable 2nd place finish at the most dreaded of all the races in the New England Mountain Running Circuit – The Pack Monadnock 10 Miler on Sunday (a ten mile race that climbs gradually for 8 miles, then steeper for mile 9 and finally a 1,000 foot climb in the last mile). Showing up tired and stiff to such an event would seem counterintuitive to a achieving a good result. But when the gun went off, my legs had more than enough in them to cruise comfortably at a good clip. I have learned that fatigue is often more in the mind than in the body. Which is why I keep pushing myself when my mind tells me not to… Because my body seems to be enjoying the ride.
I look forward to seeing what I can do at the U.S.A. Half Marathon Trail Championships this coming weekend, with a taper thrown in for good measure.
- Total Training Time – 16:06:38
- Total Running Time – 15:06:28
- Total Running Miles – 96.5
- Total Elevation Gain – 13,821 ft
Monday May 30th – 02:37:42
- Mt. Greylock Road – 13.4 miles, 2:13:12
- Road Run 3.4 miles, 24:30
Tuesday May 31st – 02:49:01
- Upright Rower – 20:00
- Mt. Anthony Trails – 6.9 miles, 1:24:45
- Road Run – 7.7 miles, 1:04:16
Wednesday June 1st – 02:26:49
- Trail Run – 7 miles, 1:16:47
- Road Run – 5.5 miles, 43:24
- Road Run 3.4 miles, 26:38
Thursday June 2nd – 02:27:26
- Mt. Anthony – 8.5 miles, 1:28:46
- Road Run – 5.3 miles, 38:40
- Upright Rower – 20:00
Friday June 3rd – 01:57:16
- Upright Rower – 20:00
- Trail Run – 6.1 miles, 1:02:09
- Road Run – 4.4 miles, 35:07
Saturday June 4th – 00:44:28
- Mile Around Woods – 5 miles, 44:28
Sunday June 5th – 03:03:39
- Race Warmup – 1.3 miles, 12:25
- Pack Monadnock Mountain Race – 9.9 miles, 1:05:44
- Race Warmdown – 1.5 miles, 14:36
- Mt. Monadnock Trails – 4 miles, 1:03:16
- Road Run – 3.3 miles, 27:38
Weekly, Monthly and Yearly training totals can be found at http://runningraw.com/training.html
