Week Log: Feb 18-24

Week 3 of 6 in preparation for the Jurassic Coast Challenge. Another solid week on the trails of Carolina North Forest.

• Mon - 4 miles easy
  
• Tues - 11 miles
  
• Wed - 3 miles
  
• Thurs - 9 (am 5.5, pm 3.5)
  
• Fri - 13 (am 5.5, pm 7.5)
  
• Sat - 24 (half dark, half light)
  
• Sun - 16

Weekly total: 80 miles

The week started out a little rough, but ended well. I think running doubles (am & pm) and getting out with some of the Trailheads was the key to keeping the weekly mileage and pace on par. The usual long run (4 hrs , 4:20 am start) on Sat was the hardest it's been in a while, but it was nice to be joined by Gumbi (and stitch) at 5:30 and then at 6:30 by Willow, Grinz and Half Dome. These guys really pulled me along during the low points.

Sunday was a complete reversal and the 2nd Sunday in a row I felt really strong. 10.5 miles on even footing at 7 minute miles followed by another 5.5 of single track. I don't understand why I'd feel strongest the day after my longest run of the week. Conflicts with my "over training" theory about why the beginning of the week was rough. Bizarre, but I'll take it.

So far I've been training at a pretty consistent level for Jurassic Coast Challenge. Here's how the first 3 weeks look with regards to the 3 gauges I've been watching: mileage, pace, number of runs...

wk 1: 80 miles, 8 runs, 9.4 min miles
wk 2: 80 miles, 9 runs, 8.6 min miles
wk 3: 80 miles, 9 runs, 9.0 min miles

I'll take a snapshot of the average here and (80m, 8.7 runs, 8.9mm) and use this as a baseline against which to measure the buildup for Bighorn 100 where I'll try to reduce the number of runs while keeping the mileage and pace constant. Sounds simple, right?

For the next week of training for JCC I'll be breaking the routine a little and focusing on a few special things.

Week Log: Feb 11-17

Another week running the trails of Carolina North Forest. This is week 2 of 6 in the buildup for the Jurassic Coast Challenge 3/28-30th.

• Mon - 3 mi easy
  
• Tues - 12.5 (7.5 am, 5 pm)
• Wed - 12 mi (7.5 am, 4.5 pm)
• Thurs - 5 mi (night run)
  
• Fri - 5.5 mi
  
• Sat - 24 mi (half dark, half light)
  
• Sun - 18 mi (7:30 pace)
  

Weekly Total: 80 miles

I've been keeping an eye on 3 dials: 1) # of runs per week, 2) miles per week, and 3) average pace. Tinkering around with the idea of holding the weekly miles and time constant while reducing the total number of runs. Basically encouraging longer runs at pace. Something to think about on the road to Bighorn 100. For now, I'm enjoying squeezing lots of shorter runs into my schedule and starting to ramp up longer back to back runs.

Added another couple pairs of NB790s to the rotation. I'm running in these almost exclusively now. Last time I was this excited about a shoe was when I discovered One Sport (Montrail) in 1997 with a model that became the Vitesse.

Another week injury free and generally feeling good physically and mentally. Looking forward to an easy day tomorrow and hopefully another solid week.

Week Log: Feb 4-10

Single track in Carolina North Forest.

• Mon - rest
• Tues - 13 mi
• Wed - 12 mi (4.5 am, 7.5 pm)
• Thurs - 11 mi
• Fri - 12 mi
• Sat - 17 mi
• Sun - 15 mi (7.5 am, 7.5 pm)

Weekly Total: 80 miles

No more IT Band troubles this week. Switched out my Hardrocks for a pair of New Balance 790s. Opposite ends of the continuum. I'm loving the NB790s for the shorter distances on soft trails. Thicker socks helps provide a little more cushion too. Not sure where this experiment is going though... I don't think I'd brave an ultra in a shoe this lightweight, so... why train in them? Because it's fun. I've decided to look into this lightweight trail shoe phenomenon some more. Seems to be working for some, including Anton Krupicka (recent shin issues aside).