Just one of those days where I woke up mentally and physically tired so I looked at my running log and sure enough I've run 18 consecutive days, so I knew it was either a day off or a recovery day. I opted for the latter and did a nice easy 30 min. barefoot run on the treadmill. I'll monitor things closely this week.
Harry
I'm just not feeling the outside run which is a first for me (this has never happened). I have no idea what's going on with me. I love the outdoors and trails but I've been content with the treadmill this week. Very weird and I have no idea what's going on.
Anyway, I ran 40 min., with the first 20 min. barefoot and the last 20 min. shod. Fun run, nice and easy. Hit the iPod for the last 20 min. Maybe since it's a back off week, my body is in shock . . . who knows.
Harry
Since I've acquired a real distaste for cold weather, I've decided to alter my running approach this winter and use this back off week to make the adjustments. This morning I did 10 min. barefoot on the treadmill, then 25 min. outside on the trails, ending with a 5 min. barefoot cool down. I'm going to split my runs up so I can get a dose of outside running to keep my body adjusted to road/trail impacts but I'll be doing 50-70% of my running on the treadmill this winter (around 32F and I'm indoors . .. toasty warm :). It's also a chance for me to ramp up my barefoot running.
Harry
Several folks have asked about my heart rate and since I don't run with gadgets like HRMs, I decided to strap one on for a short easy run today. I averaged a 6:50 pace during a 30 min. run and my average heart rate was 118. I know that's low as I'm 42 yrs. old, however, I've always had a low heart rate which is likely genetic as it runs in my family. My resting heart rate will drop around 50.
I'm continuing to treat this week as a recovery run week limiting my running to around 30 minutes per day.
Harry
I'm continuing my back off week which I do periodically through the year where I cut my mileage by 50% and limit most of my runs to around 30 minutes. I so wanted to keep going but I need to do this as it's a spiritual exercise and a mental challenge but mostly importantly, it's an opportunity for my body to fully repair.
Harry
I think it's time for a full back off week so I just ran a total of 30 minutes, including warmdown. Every 2-3 months based on how my body feels I'll cut back my running by nearly 50% to let my body (and mind) recover. I reduce my average weekly run from 45-50 min. to 20-30 min. and reduce my long run to 60 min.
I also try really hard to not run any sub 6:00 race pace during this time; I really try to get everything in the 8-9:00 range. Essentially it's a mental and physical vacation. I run by feel all signs are this is this time to back off. I also need to adjust for the winter as I have a slightly different running approach for the winter vs. spring/summer/fall.
Harry
The perfect recovery run after yesterday's hard run . . . nice easy 35 min. run. The first 10 minutes was slow as my muscles were pretty sore; no doubt I did a good amount of muscle tearing from yesterday's run. I only wanted to run to clear the waste from my body (it's working).
This was a classic mind vs. body battle and fortunately I was disciplined enough to follow my body. The mind wanted me to keep running but I knew my body was in healing mode and not recovered from yesterday so I made sure to not run more than 30 minutes. The danger is after a hard workout, your muscle memory the next day remembers running fast and will revert to that mode so you need to make sure to do what's right from your body.
Harry
[PART I]
I had no idea what I was going to do but this turned into a longer run (60 mi.) followed by a race pace finish (25 min.) which is part II that I'll post separately. Beautiful morning, about 50F but too many people on the trails for my liking :)
[PART II]
Ok, I admit I over did it and I will pay in about 48 hrs. when DOMS sets in. I usually don't run race pace for this amount of time at the end of a long run (part I) . . . 25 min. at 5:57 pace . . . I really didn't realize it.
I knew I was running 5k race pace but with the iPod I lost track of how far/long I was maintaining this pace. I will pay for this unless I'm very conservative over the next few days so I will do a very short 30 min. run tomorrow to help the healing process and then likely take Monday off to recover. All in all, it felt good to get back to 5k race pace.
Harry
Started out a bit sluggish but knocked off 45 min. and was able to throw in 6, 600 meter 5k pace surges at the end which felt great as I needed to get some fast turnover. After travel and being regulated to a treadmill, it usually takes me a few days to get back on track. It was a bit chilly (37F) and I had to wear my running jacket for the first time since I can remember + mittens (too cold for regular gloves but I'm a wimp when it comes to cold weather).
Harry
45 min. run . . .this represents about 90% of my daily running . . . 5-6 miles; 40-50 minutes. Then I sprinkle in some race pace running 3-4 times each month, and a couple monthly long runs and I'm good to go. After missing Monday due to travel, Tuesday on the hotel treadmill, and missing Wednesday while traveling, I was dying to get back outside on the trails . . . I think I smiled the entire time :) . . . this is what feeds my soul.
Harry
A nice easy and relaxed 40 min. run. I'm cutting my runs a few minutes short so I can return home before my daughter boards the bus for school. Just saying "bye and have a good day at school," are precious moments not to be underscored :) . . . while I absolutely love my running, that's more important.
Harry
After several days of slower running, I was waiting for my body to allow me to do some faster running. After 20 minutes of warming up, the signals were clear that this was the day as my muscles were tight and I had spring in the legs, so I moved to 5k race pace (sub 6:00 pace for 3 miles).
The body is amazing . . . I have a 2 1/2 to 3 min. variation in pace per mile between my 5k race pace and easy pace. I spent about 15 minutes cooling down just trotting along to bring my heart beat down. Total run time around 50 minutes.
Harry
Pretty tired legs this morning after late night tennis last night. I didn't warm up until the last 5 minutes. I'm surprised I made it 50 min.
Harry
Decided to be cautious today. Looking at my log, I've done 3, 5k pace workouts, and 2 long runs in the past 10 days so I took today off. I'll be back at it tomorrow.
Harry
Felt much better after yesterday. It was very smart to take it easy yesterday as I recovered for the run this morning, which turned into a long run around 80 minutes. One of those just awesome runs. I had no idea a long run was going to happen.
Harry
I had absolutely NOTHING today. Legs were dead; no pop and no drive, and faster than normal heart beat. The messages were clear as that feeling continued even after warming up so I made sure to do a short run (40 min.) and headed back home. I call this the "red zone" and this is where runners have 2 choices: listen to your body or push beyond and significantly increase the chances for injury; I've learned to choose the former :). There's always tomorrow and nothing beats injury free running.
Harry
