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.

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.

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.

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!