Tough week

This was a tough week for me – I did a two-fer (two runs in a day) on Tuesday, hill repeats on Thursday, then a very hilly 7 mile trail run on Friday, and capped it with a 15 miler on Sunday. In total it was 33 miles for the week, which I know pales in comparison to what serious runners put in, but it is was I was comfortable doing.  I usually run 5 days a week, but this week was only 4 – my right Achilles has been a little tight, so I am trying to exercise some measure of level headedness and not overdo it to the point of not being able to run.  My mantra this year has been to stay uninjured.  Besides, the runs that I did were very productive and touched on all the elements that I wanted.

The mistake I made however was on Saturday.  Feeling the need to do something physical, I went down to the gym with the thought of doing some light upper body work – which led to also doing some leg work (leg curls, leg presses, calf presses), and because I felt so empowered, it led to a more rigorous workout that I ought to have considering that I was going to run 15 miles the next day.

I did the run, but it was so very much not my best run by a long shot.  My legs were totally toast after mile 10.  I started to feel the effects of my legs  not having the juice as soon as I hit my first significant hill around mile 7.  My legs just did not have it to run up that hill – so I sucked on a Gu and walked up most of it.  The Gu helped and I seemed to be ok of the next series of modest hills.

I had run up from my apartment into Great Falls Park and then up a trail into River Bend Park.  The trails were beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed that part of the run.  I was on trails that I had mostly not been on before, was navigating by dead reckoning, and it was a blast.  At one point, knowing that I was heading towards the Potomac River I wound up on the trail that switch-backed its way down a reasonably high ridge (probably a 200 ft drop in elevation).  I remember thinking that if this trail didn’t drop me where I thought it was going to that I was going to have to run back up that switch-back, something that I did not think my legs were going to appreciate.  But fortunately I did wind up at a trail that runs along the river that would take me back to Great Falls Park.  The first picture is looking back upstream on the trail I was running, and the second is in the direction that I'm going. (yes, that is the edge of my finger on the left frame - I could crop that out, but...)

I like running on trails for a variety of reasons, but I am learning that trail running is very different than road running.  First of all you have to pay attention to the ground and what is in front of you.  Secondly, you have to make sure that 

you pick up your feet.  There is no such thing as “gliding” like I try to do on hard packed surfaces.  And finally, it is really hard to appreciate your surroundings.  So as a result, my times on trails suck because I’m enjoying where I am and I’m still learning how to run on uneven trails.

The route back home involved a lot of uphill…  coming out of the park there is a 200 ft elevation uplift over a bit more than a mile.  I’m on an asphalt road at this point and it is just a smooth grind up and out of the park area.  I just chugged up the road at a steady pace, somewhere around a 9:45m/m pace and felt ok.  I got a bit of relief for the next couple miles and then had an uphill challenge for the next 4 miles, with the last ½ mile being the steepest. I sucked another Gu down at mile 12 and that helped some, but on that last ½ mile I was suffering (a very slow 11m/m plod).  At one point I almost fell on my face as I tripped on the edge of sidewalk slab.  I managed to catch myself, but I had the thought that if for some reason that I hadn’t, I would have just laid there for a while to rest up some….

I walked Reece for a mile after I got home, took an ice bath, did my protein shake, hydrated, iced my Achilles, etc… and all is good.  I was a little sore, but not horribly.  Achilles ok the next day – maybe we’re going to be ok.  We went to a pool party later that afternoon and someone asked me if I could run a marathon this week if I had to…  My first inclination was to say no, but oddly enough as I was finishing up my 15 miles and evaluating how tired I really was, I wondered if I had another 11 miles left in me, and I thought that yes, if I had to do it, I could.  So my answer to the question was yes… but I’d rather not, just yet… 

83 more days to the MCM!   (12 weeks)

2 weeks to the Leesburg 20K