Sunday, September 8, 2013

Peak to Creek Training Week 3

Mon - off

Tues - 41min/ 3.6m/ 1000' - SOMO - Went out to attempt a 9 miler with a long downhill to work on some turnover, but the achilles was like "uh, NO!"  Therefore I turned back early and took it home to not further an injury that may be occurring.  Soaked in the river for a few minutes as well in hopes the cold water would help.

Wed - off - XC meet took up almost all of my evening.  At least we won!

Thurs - 43min/ 4.9m/ 500' - DART - Got some new shoes in the mail specifically for work, but thought "hey, lets go run in these minimus zero trails with a bum achilles.  That sounds like a great idea!"  So as both my calves were now screaming at me saying, "You #*@$ing idiot!" I turned back a bit short as to try and not push it anymore and walked a bit.  Wow, am I dumb.

Fri - 34min/ 3.2m/ 200' - Latta - Another nice a mellow run with the XC kids.  I wore a proper pair of shoes today and my achilles thanked me.

Sat - 3hr30min/ 17m/ 3700' - Tour de Doughton - Meet up with Phyllis and Allen for this beautiful loop in Doughton Park north of Wilkesboro.  We couldn't have picked a better morning to run, as the temps started around 60 and never got hotter than 75.  Fall is definitely back in the air in the mountains at least.  I have done this loop once before a few years back, but I forgot how gorgeous it actually is.  Phyllis and I kept it relaxed most of the day, dodged and ran into a ton of spider webs, and I properly got smoked on the climb back up to the car.  Dang, Phyllis can climb and make it look easy.  I should definitely get out there more often.  Even with that big loop, there is still about an extra 15 miles of trail in the park that I've yet to set foot on.

Sun - 1hr45min/ 10.6m/ 1000' - Grey Rd/ Fisher Farm - Met up with Dave this morning to get in 10 miles and to catch up on some lost training due to the achilles issue this week.  I started out feeling ok, but by the time we hit the trails in Fisher Farm, my body started to give out.  I had zero energy left and the hills of Abersham and Grey Rd were killing me.  I ended up walking quite a bit, but still made it through for a very slow run.  Was thankful that Dave stayed back with me despite my slow pace today.

Total =

Time - 7hrs13min
Miles - 39.3
Vert - 6400'

Well, running 50 miles last week really bit me in the butt.  I did too much, too soon and paid the price this week.  Luckily, my body and achilles had recovered enough to still make it out to Doughton Park for a beautiful run. Hopefully the body has adjusted now to higher mileage and I can get back to strictly following my training plan.  Pics of the Doughton Park run below.

The start
Photo:  Phyllis Tsang

One of many of my spider web shields
Photo:  Phyllis Tsang

Running down Bluff Mtn
Photo:  Phyllis Tsang

Tree at the top of the mtn
Photo:  Phyllis Tsang

Beautiful bald on top of Bluff Mtn
Photo:  Phyllis Tsang

Phyllis cruising on the MST
Photo: Me

Talkin' with the ranger at Brinegar Cabin
Photo:  Phyllis Tsang

The climb up Flat Rock Trail
Photo:  Phyllis Tsang








Sunday, September 1, 2013

Peak to Creek Training Week 1 & 2

Week 1

Mon - 63min/ 7m/ 900' - Riverbend Park - Met up with Jose and let him drag up and down every hill in this park.  Great place to run, but definitely feeling out of shape.

Tues - off

Wed - 59min/ 7m/ 700' - Hickory City Park - First downhill X2 workout in preparation for the downhill of Peak to Creek.  Jose met up with me again for this one.  I took the first 1.5 mile downhill greenway repeat in 9:15 and the second one in 9:45.  Still feeling very much out of shape.

Thurs - 43min/ 5.1m/ 500' - DART - Felt slow, but ended up faster than expected so that was good.

Fri - 34min/3.8min/ 200' - Latta - long run for the ms XC kiddos.  Good first optional practice for them.

Sat - 105min/ 12m/ 1200' - Lake Norman State Park - Tom and I hit up some trails that were covered in spider webs, which made running fun for a bit until we decided to flip it (which was a great idea). My body felt good and I felt somewhat in shape.

Sun - 34min/ 4m/ 400' - Davidson XC - Tom and I got out for a few miles after a long day of golf earlier.

Totals =

Time - 5hrs36min
Miles - 38.9
Vert - 4000'

Week 2

Mon - off - successful first meet for the XC team

Tues - 70min/ 7.5m/ 1600' - SOMO - Great run out at South Mountains.  Headed up past the falls and then came down Shinny.  Great loop with lots of eye candy.

Wed - 49min/ 5.9m/ 400 - Jacob Fork Park - First fartlek workout of the training plan and it was hot!  Felt really slow, but tried to keep the pace up on the 1min hard sections.  Imagine that those were all around 6:50 pace.  Which is to slow, but it was hot!

Thurs - 51min/ 6.3m/ 600' - DART - We all did a prediction run for beer today and thankfully I didn't lose.  I ended up being 30 seconds off my predicted time but Matt nailed it with being 6 seconds off.

Fri - 38min/ 3.8m/ 200' - Latta - Another good optional XC practice for the team.  Kept it slow due to the 90 degree heat with them.

Sat - 4hrs45min/ 22m/ 4000' - Dupont Waterfall Bonanza - Great run with the Pisgah Nation, but I wasn't prepared physically or mentally.  On the hole it was a great run with great friends and sweet waterfalls.  I felt slow all day, but was feeling pretty beat up from the week.  First real long run in a long while though, which is good.

Sun - 53min/ 4.8m/ 1500' - Linville Gorge - Had a great easy run up to the tops of both Hawksbil and Sitting Bear after a great round of golf earlier.

Totals=

Time - 9hrs5min/
Miles - 50.3
Vert - 8300'

Well after the first two weeks of training, I'm feeling pretty good but am hoping the speed will return soon as I will need it for Peak to Creek coming up soon.  We will see how this weeks speedwork goes.  My legs feel pretty good after this weeks heavy mileage so that is good.