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Weekly Recap: July 8-14

7/15/2013

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Total Mileage: 67mi
Elevation Gain: 8200'
Cross-Training: 3mi (walking), 2 core workouts
Goal: Make the most of my final peak week before Wakely Dam with another long run on the course and as many miles as I can handle.

This wasn't a bad week, and I'm extremely happy to have been able to run 67 miles despite struggling with minor injuries every day. It seems 83 miles was a bit too much the week before (duh)!

I started the week with an easy paced 15-miler on trails with Chris Fey, and finished with an easy 23mi on the Wakely course with Adam Crofoot. Both friends are also running Wakely Dam. Getting two long runs in again this week should prove beneficial for me during the race.

Unfortunately I made some mistakes that led to injuries and kept me from doing hard workouts mid-week. After running on Monday I got right in the car without cooling down or stretching (it was raining) and ended up with a sore muscle below my hip. It didn't keep me from training but it was annoying and kept me from running hard for the next couple days. Then on Wednesday I tried to run at a steady pace on the very muddy trail out from Marcy Dam and pulled/strained something behind me knee. I didn't feel it at the time, but by later in the day I was worried I might not be able to run for a few days. I did end up running every day, but could only run uphill without discomfort and had some short workouts as a result.

Fortunately I felt OK for Sunday's long run, as we kept the pace easy and the course was mostly dry and non-technical. I did take one very hard fall on a wet rock, bruising and scraping my shin and hip, but it seems that won't be a problem.

Looking Ahead: Two weeks until Wakely Dam--taper time. I had planned to cut back slightly on mileage for the next week and only reduce significantly in the final week. At this point it's more important that everything heals ASAP, so I'll go by feel and only do as much running as I think I can do without jeopardizing my healing.

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Weekly Recap: June 30-July 6

7/8/2013

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Total Mileage: 83mi
Elevation Gain: 4400'
Cross-Training: 6mi (walking), 2 core workouts
Goal: Run as much as I can after taking two weeks off.

Wow, 83 miles. This was just a bit more than I figured I'd do in my week back from leading the backpacking trip. I started the week with a too-fast 15 mile road run, and spent the next couple of days running through the soreness caused by my aggressive return to training. But after that I felt great and cruised to my highest mileage training week ever.

I ended up getting two speed workouts in this week, as well as two long runs (due to running a long run on Sunday and another the following Saturday), and added core strength workouts back to my routine after pretty much skipping them in May and June. Ending the week with 26 miles out and back on the Wakely Dam course was perfect and got me very excited for the race on July 27th!

Looking Ahead: Three weeks to go until Wakely Dam. I'll try for another big week before starting to taper.

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Saturday: Wakely Marathon

7/6/2013

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I got a chance to run on the Wakely course for the first time Saturday, mainly to get a feel for the terrain and suss out the water sources (the race has no aid). I ended up doing an out-and-back marathon, with about 24mi at a steady 50k race pace and the last 2mi easy.

The course is surprisingly dry (there are some wet spots, but no more than I would expect on the Northville-Placid Trail in early summer). Even so I'm going to explore running in the Asics Fuji Racer for the next couple weeks to see if I can get away with it for Wakely. The Pearl Izumi Trail N2s were awesome (best fit in a trail shoe that I've had for a while, if ever) but they don't drain quite as well as I'd like on the NPT, especially if it rains on race day.

As I finished the run I realized I've done 83 miles in the last week. I hadn't thought of that as I was counting the week from Monday to Sunday, but since I did my long run on Saturday this week that means I've done two long runs in the last seven days.

Total Miles: 26mi
Weekly Total: 83mi
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Thursday: Tempo in the Heat

7/4/2013

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Quality heat training this week! I hope it's not this hot for Wakely Dam but if it is at least I'll be prepared. I got a 7-mile tempo run in today, allowing myself to run nearly 10 seconds slower per mile than normal to account for the heat and humidity.

Warmup: 2mi easy.
Drills: High knees, high skips, butt kicks, lateral skips, carioca, backwards running.
Tempo: 7mi at 6:26 pace.
Cooldown: 2mi easy, long soak in the river!

Weighing myself when a got home (even after a glass of chocolate milk) showed that I lost over 4 pounds during this workout. Normally I don't drink during runs under 1h30m, but it was a bit scary to step on the scale and see 145lbs. I'm making a big effort to rehydrate now.

Total Miles: 11mi
Weekly Total: 37mi
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Choosing Midweight Trail Runners

7/3/2013

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I've been thinking of getting a new pair of mid-weight trail runners for a while now. I'm currently running trails in a lightweight racer (La Sportiva Helios) or a heavy max-cushioned tank (Hoka Mafate), with nothing in between that I really like.

I ordered five pairs in the 10-11oz range that I've heard good things about, and tested them today on the treadmill at Keene Fitness. They were, in descending order of weight (top left to bottom right in the photo): Pearl Izumi Trail N2, North Face Ultra Guide, North Face Hypertrack Guide, Asics Fuji Trainer, and Asics Fuji Racer.

I wasn't fond of the feel of either of the North Face shoes, which for my stride felt very clunky in the transition strike to toe-off, and the Fuji Trainers didn't fit my heel well at all. Those three shoes were out pretty much the instant I stepped on the treadmill--they'll go back to Running Warehouse for sure.

The Trail N2s and Fuji Racers, on the other hand, felt right immediately. The Pearl Izumis are the clear winners for what I'm looking for (mid-weight, plenty of cushioning, specifically for ultras), so I'll keep those--in fact, I ran 5 miles on the trail with them later in the day; I'm committed. I'm torn on the Fuji Racers. They are very light (9.5oz in size 10.5), so they compete with the La Sportiva Helios as my fast racing shoe. I had planned to buy another pair of Helios, but the Fuji seems like more shoe (better rock plate, stiffer forefoot) for the same weight. I'll need to compare them side by side with the Helios before I decide whether or not to keep them as my lightweight racer of choice.

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Tuesday: Strength Intervals

7/2/2013

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Apparently two weeks off didn't hurt my fitness too much, but it definitely hurt my ability to recover each day after running. I've been sore since Sunday's 15 miler, so I took it easy on Monday with 4mi and got a 3mi recovery run in this morning.

I still felt a bit tight for this evening's intervals but was able to complete the workout without much trouble--sometimes fast running actually feels better than slow, presumably due to better form when running fast. Even so, I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow.

Warmup: 2mi easy.
Drills: High knees, high skips, butt kicks, carioca.
Intervals: 5x1mi at HM pace w/ 600m recovery jog.
Cooldown: 2mi easy.

Tomorrow I get a big package from Running Warehouse and hope to hit the treadmill at Keene Fitness in order to test out a bunch of shoes and decide what to keep (looking for a mid weight trail runner for Wakely Dam, in between the Hoka Mafate and La Sportiva Helios). Should be fun!

Total Miles: 11mi
Weekly Total: 18mi
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Sunday: 15 Long

6/30/2013

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After 11 days in the woods leading a hiking camp I couldn't wait to get back to running. I had to reign myself in and keep it to 15 miles, knowing that to do 20+ after almost two weeks without running would probably be a mistake.

I did allow myself to run faster than I had planned, keeping the pace under 7:00 even with my "slow" shoes (Hokas). It felt good to let loose.

Going into the week of July 1-7 I hope to get right back to running 70 miles per week as if I never missed a beat, but I'll listen to my body and back off if it tells me to. It will be interesting to see whether 11 days of mostly easy paced hiking hurt my running or if the rest and strengthening might have actually helped.

Total Miles: 15mi
Weekly Total: 15mi (plus lots of hiking)
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Weekly Recap: June 10-16

6/16/2013

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PictureGATR winner Sarah Keyes.
Total Mileage: 70mi
Elevation Gain: 7700'
Cross-Training: 6.5mi (3 walking, 3.5 hiking)
Goal: Run at least 60 miles before leaving for a backpacking trip.

This was my first 70-mile week since beginning marathon training last summer (I think I did a couple when training for Western States 100 in 2010) and it included lots of quality workouts, including speed intervals on the track, a tempo run on the road, hill repeats, and two long trail runs. Today's run on the northern section of the Northville-Placid trail got me very excited for Wakely Dam in July. I covered 19 miles of very muddy trail in 3hrs, about the same pace I hope to hold for 32 miles at Wakely (hopefully in much drier conditions).

In addition, the Great Adirondack Trail Run took place on Saturday and was a huge success. Nearly 100 people ran the fun run on Baxter Mountain for the largest field we've ever had by far, and the long run saw some amazing performances including three times that were faster than the men's course record despite the wet and muddy conditions. Huge congrats to Tim Reynolds for his remarkable time of 1:37:36, as well as to local athletes Sarah Keyes (female overall champ) and Matthew Harrison (3rd overall). Plus I have to give a shout out my friend Chris Fey, who ran under 2hrs to improve his time from last year by over 10 minutes and managed to place in the top 10 in our deepest field ever.

Looking Ahead: On Wednesday I turn into a hiker. I'll be in the woods until June 29th, and won't be posting to Adirondack Runner during that time. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back in two weeks!

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GATR winner Tim Reynolds. Photos by Chuck Bruha.
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Thursday: Recovery Run & Tempo Run

6/13/2013

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I continue to pack on the miles before taking a forced break from running next week (for a 10 day backpacking trip). I'm feeling the lack of recovery after four straight 9+ mile days, but I might not be able to run as much on Friday and Saturday as I'll be busy organizing the Great Adirondack Trail Run. Hopefully I'll get a good long run in on Sunday to bring my weekly mileage well over 60.

AM: Ran 4mi easy with the jogger.

After getting loose in the morning I went out for a quality workout in the evening, doing some tempo running at MP.

Warmup: 1mi easy.
Tempo: 6mi at 6:17 pace.
Cooldown: 1mi easy, 1.5mi recovery.

Total Miles: 13.5mi (in two runs)
Weekly So Far: 40.5mi
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Wednesday: GATR Course Easy

6/12/2013

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I ran the 9 miles of trail on the Great Adirondack Trail Run course today in order to mark it for Saturday's race. Yesterday's heavy rain really changed the track--there are a lot of sections that are under water.

It will be a tough race for runners with waterlogged feet and mud and water splashing everywhere, but at least it's going to be nice and sunny!

The GATR has been run on a longer course than the original for the last four years. The course record is 1:44:09, set in 2012 by four-time champion George Adams (Juergen Uhl ran 1:44:10 in 2011, beating Adams by two seconds that year). Also in 2011 I ran the course five days before the event, clocking 1:42:32--this is the fastest known time for the course. The Garmin data to the right is from that run, as it's more interesting than my slow easy run today.

With all the water on the course this year it will be quite the feat to set a course record. With returning champions George Adams, Juergen Uhl and Tim Reynolds all expected back, as well as perennial contenders Matthew Harrison and Pat Hamel and newcomer Keith Iskiw, I expect the competition to be fierce!

Total Miles: 9mi
Weekly So Far: 27mi
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    My Best Results:

    7/31/16: Escarpment Trail Run 18mi
         1st place, 3:01:12
    7/18/15: Wakely Dam 33mi
         1st place, 4:45:01, Course Record
    6/21/14: Manitou's Revenge 54mi
         1st place, 10:50:34, Course Record
    4/21/14: Boston Marathon
         2:55:52
    10/13/13: Mohawk Hudson Marathon
         11th place, 2:49:49
    9/29/13: Vermont 50
         3rd place, 6:40:29
    5/25/13: Patch Sprint 12.5mi
         1st place, 2:01:43, Course Record

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