Sor far, this week of training is going really, really well. I think my body is finally adapting to the nasty heat and humidity in Middle Tennessee. My left hip continues to bother me, but I’m pretty sure it is an IT Band issue, and nothing bone related. I’ve stepped up my emphasis on stretching, strengthening, and foam rolling to try and get it knocked out. Here is a quick rundown of this week so far:
Monday
Nathan and I hit the trails in Edwin and Percy Warner park to get in a few off-road miles. We started with the Blue Trail in Edwin Warner, and added the short Yellow and Orange trails to add a little distance. My legs were definitely pushed to the max on the steep climbs, but I made it all the way through without walking. After a quick fluid stop at the Nature Center we hit the Candy Cane Connector Trail in Percy Warner, and then did a loop on the Vaughn’s Gap Cross Country Course before returning back to Edwin Warner on the Candy Cane Trail. We got in a little over 6-miles, and my legs felt pretty good throughout.
Tuesday
Nathan and I started from the main gates in Percy Warner park and did an 8.5-mile easy run through the streets of Belle Meade. We kept the pace very, very chill throughout, and it was good to get in a fairly long, mid-week run. Incorporate the infamous “Zig-Zag” route created by our friend Edward:
Thursday
After last week’s track workout disaster, I was anxious to get back out there this week. Thankfully, the intervals were much shorter, and I felt AWESOME. Here’s a rundown:
- 3.2-Mile Warmup (wanted to make sure my hip was good and loose)
- 6 x 100m Stride Outs
- 4 x 200m fresh (100m Recovery / 400m Recovery)
- 800m Straights and Curves (400m Recovery)
- 3 x 250m fresh (150m Recovery / 400m Recovery)
- 800m Straights and Curves
- 1.35-Mile Cool Down
It was crazy humid, but for some reason it didn’t really bother me after I got through the warmup. I started off the intervals fairly conservative, but picked up the pace as my confidence started to grow. For example, my 200m splits during the 250m intervals, were faster (39/40 sec) than during the 200m intervals (43 to 46 sec). In total I got in just over 8 miles, and more importantly re-gained a great deal of confidence that was lost last week. Still have a LONG way to go, but it is nice to have a good night at track.
Friday
The Bellevue Trio Returns!! Paxton has been nursing an injury for the past few weeks, and today was the first day in a while that all 3 of us did a run together. We did a 4-mile recovery run through Bellevue using 10 / 1 run-walk intervals. My legs were pretty toasty after the track workout, but we kept the past very chill, and it felt good.
About to head-out for an evening 2.5-mile run/walk on the White Trail at Percy Warner with my girls, and then tomorrow we have a group tempo workout with 10 to 11-miles of Marathon Pace intervals. Should be a good challenge.
Beast Mode….ON!
