Week 7 2014 Recap

Back to some long weekend miles after a lower mileage week.  I actually felt pretty good on my 20 miler after a 25 miler the day before.  It was meant to be a bit slower of a run and it was definitely a sluggish start.  After about 45 mins I was good to go and the rest of the run was done in good spirits.  I am planning on doing the Peak Races Snowshoe Marathon next weekend in Pittsfield, VT.  26.2 miles with 5200' of vertical.

Summary of Week 7:
M    OFF
T     8.3 mile Griffin Hill Loop (7:34 pace)
W    6.6 mile XC Classic (waxless) ski w/ headlamp on VAST trails
Th   7.4 mile Castleton-Pond Hill Loop
F     OFF
S     25.1 mile run (1900' vertical)
S     20.0 mile run (1980' vertical)

Weekly Totals:
Run distance:                    60.8 miles (67.4 miles run & ski)
Total run elevation gain:    4,846 feet (6,047' run & ski)
Total time all activities:       9 hours 33 mins

Back to logging weekend miles

Today was the best running day since last fall!  Blue skies and temps in the 40s with a bit of a breeze.  Back to running shorts without spandex.  Overall a refreshing workout.  Today I went back up to a 25 mile run with just under 2000' of elevation gain on mostly dirt roads around Castleton.  It was a bit soft, slushy etc., but really there wasn't too much to complain about.  I was able to run the first 6.5 miles with Hillary as she was out for a 12 miler.  The legs were a bit sore afterwards, showing that I need to step up my leg strength with some hill workouts, but I would say overall my body feels good.

Week 6 2014 - Recap

Lots of snow this week!  This was a down week for me anyways, so I had an opportunity to do some ski cross training and take a bit of a break over the weekend with lower miles than normal.  My typical off-day (Friday) was more of a workout than I expected with skinning 3 laps at Pico, but I lowered my Sunday run by a few miles accordingly.

Summary of Week 6:
M    OFF
T     Skate Ski at Mtn Meadows (1 hour 20 mins)
W    7.8 mile Griffin Hill Loop Run
Th   7.8 mile Flat Rail Trail Run
F     Skinning/Ski at Pico (4300')
S     11.3 mile run (7:45 pace)
S     8.3 mile run with Hillary

Weekly Totals:
Run distance:                    27.4 miles (49.5 miles run & ski)
Total run elevation gain:    1,484 feet (6,755' run & ski)
Total time all activities:       8 hours 47 mins

Week 5 2014 - Recap

Just when I was planning for a hefty trail run, bammm a foot of snow comes down.  I'm not going to complain too much since it is extremely refreshing.  It has remained cold, the snow is still soft, and the weekend was nothing but blue skies.  It just means that I am going to take advantage of the snow for some cross training.  On Sat I ran 25 miles, but there was not a ton of elevation gain.  However, since much of the run was on pavement I was definitely a bit sore afterwards and this morning.  After hauling in wood that will last the week for the furnace I was feeling pretty good, so I gathered the dogs and skis to explore the snowmobile trails around Castleton.  It was a tough endurance weekend and I am feeling tired, but still strong after the weekend activities.  It will be nice to drop the mileage a bit this week to allow for some recovery before getting into big weekend miles again the next week.

View from Pond Hill VAST trail towards Bird Mtn

Tired dogs

Summary of Week 5:
M    OFF
T     7.6 mi trail run (1,528' elev. gain)
W    5.0 mile classic XC Ski (breaking new trail 10" snow; 600' elev. gain)
Th   5.0 mile deep snow run (strenuous)
F     OFF
S     24.8 mile run (8:09 pace; 1,400' elev. gain)
S     19.6 mile classic XC ski VAST trails (2,325' elev. gain)

Weekly Totals:
Run distance:                    37.4 miles (62.1 miles run & ski)
Total run elevation gain:     3,509 feet (6,434' run & ski)
Total time all activities:      10 hours 25 mins

Week 4 2014 - Recap

This last week was the first fairly tough week for me with the weekend miles growing (33 miles), hill intervals, and total elevation gain for the week increasing (~5000 feet).  The weather has been getting warmer, yet the roads have remained snowpacked all week.  I have been running mostly on dirt roads, but my 20 mile Friday run was almost entirely pavement.  My feet and legs were a bit more sore than normal since I am not as used to the impact.  I am looking forward to getting out on the trails more and more.
Next week I am building up to a Sat.-25mi, Sun-20mi before I bring the miles down for one week as part of my training periodicity plan to facilitate recovery and prevent over training.  Even though I am not putting on a ton of miles per week compared to a lot of runners, since I am only running 4 days a week I am putting on many more miles per training event.  So far I can't believe it, but I am feeling really great!

Sunday morning run on Birdseye Rd

Summary of Week 4
M   OFF
T    8.25 mi run (Medium effort, small elev. gain)
W    4x1mi hill (~450') intervals; 8.0 mi total
Th   40 minute skate ski on Castleton Rail Trail
F    20.5 mi run (decent effort, decent elevation)
S     OFF - Ice fishing Lake Bomoseen
S     12.3 mi run (easy, decent elevation)

Weekly Totals
Run distance:                       49.1 miles
Total run elevation gain:        4,933 feet
Total time all activities:          7.4 hours