This was another great week of training--save a horrendous Thursday night (more on that below)--that culminated in an excellent 26.4-mile Saturday and nearly 40-mile weekend. I ended the week with 90.57 miles. My mileage the last three weeks has been 86.85, 83.26 and 90.57. I should log my first 100-mile week of the racing season within the next 2-3 weeks.
Unfortunately, right now my body's trying to fight off another nasty cold that Noah brought home from childcare and that really has a hold on Anne. If I'm going to be sick, I need to be sick now so that by Saturday, when the Lt. JC Stone 50K rolls around, I'll be healthy enough to run--and run well.
Anyway, on Thursday morning Anne and I had to take Noah to the ER for a double ear infection stemming from this nasty cold. We left for the ER, with our screaming baby, at 3:30 a.m. and didn't get back home until 5:30 a.m. with a much more relaxed Noah with all the medication he needed. By 5:30 a.m. I've usually already logged one or two miles with six or seven more to go. Needless to say, I didn't run that morning and instead got a few hours of sleep before going into work as a zombie. The details of this little adventure are under "Friday" below.
Here's how the week went:
Monday
AM: 6.1 miles in Roswell, Georgia, in and around my parents' VERY hill neighborhood.
PM: 4 miles easy on the treadmill about an hour after arriving home from the weekend in Georgia and South Carolina. My legs were very stiff from the airplane. I think airplanes are definitely not intended for 6'2" men.
Total miles for the day: 10.1
Tuesday
AM: 8.6 miles in the Chagrin River valley. A reasonable 32 degrees. Needed a rest so I took the night off.
Wednesday
AM: 9-mile track workout consisting of three one-mile repeats. When I stepped on the track the temperature was a pleasant 57 degrees but there was a nasty gust coming in from the west that really sucked when I ran against it on each lap. Despite the wind, my mile repeat times are finally starting to look respectable, though I need to regain consistency with my times. My times were 5:36, 5:42 and 5:49 with 800 meter recoveries at about 3:40 each. I still have a way to go in getting my times down and improving my aerobic capacity (I was gassed midway through the third interval but hung on) but this was a workout to build on. No running that night.
Thursday
AM: 9.3 miles in the Chagrin River valley
PM: 5.05 miles during lunchtime in Shaker Park. The trails were very muddy and the footing awful. I twisted my ankle toward the end but it was no big deal.
Total miles for day: 14.35
Friday
PM: 9.12 miles in South Chagrin Reservation. As written above, Anne and I had to take Noah to the ER at 3:30 in the morning when his non-stop screaming and crying and restlessness indicated an ear infection. Sure enough, he was treated for a double-ear infection and given an antibiotic and we got home at 5:30 a.m., when I'm usually on my run. With Noah a little doped up on meds, we grabbed a few hours of sleep and then headed off to work exhausted while Noah went to childcare to sleep it off until Anne picked him up a few hours later. I honestly didn't think I'd get in a run but, sure enough, I grabbed these 9.12 miles late in the day and actually felt really good. The sun was still out and the temperature in the 40s. It was great running on the trails--my body and mind needed it.
Saturday
AM: 22.4 miles in a very sunny South Chagrin Reservation, though it was a bit cold. I covered these 22.4 miles on trail, save 2 miles, in 3:17, and I felt good the entire time. Once again I felt like I could keep running forever--a good sign of where I am with my endurance right now. I ran with John K. and Ted F. the first 8 miles and then Ted and I went another 7 before I broke off and kept going.
PM: 4 miles on the treadmill easy. My right foot hurt a little.
Total miles for day: 26.4
Sunday
AM: 13 miles in Solon with the Southeast Running Club. I basically ran with Jeff U. the whole time and we talked about marathoning, ultras and the upcoming race calendar. My legs were pretty tired and I was quite tired from only 7 hours of sleep (thanks to Noah waking us up at 4:40!), but I hung on and averaged 7:34 for the 13 miles to finish the week just above my goal of 90 miles.
Total miles for week: 90.57
Total miles for month: 188.33
Total miles for year: 736.77
Assuming I'm healthy, the weather's OK and all is well in the Hornsby house, I'll be a go for the Lt. JC Stone 50K this Saturday. I'm going to taper this week, running about 25 miles or so going into Saturday's race, and focusing on a good pre-race diet. If the Stone doesn't work out for the above-mentioned reasons, I may do the Green Jewel 50K here in Cleveland or just go on a long training run on Saturday. Either way, I don't want to go north of 70 or 75 miles this week.
Onward and upward!
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