2016 Training Log : 1/25 - 1/31

Quality: N/A

Trail: 12 miles on Saturday at Skullbuster

Easy: 4 runs for 20 miles.

Cycling: 12 miles.

Total: 5 runs & 2 rides for 44 miles.

Weeks like this are why I include an extra week in my training plans. Woke up Monday barely able to walk, something had tweaked my back pretty good. Likely a result of so much running in deep snow working different muscles than normal. Mileage was cut back drastically & there's still a bit of lingering soreness today.

Come Saturday I was able to stand up straight without spasms so I headed out to Skullbuster. The trail was a mix of ice & soup, with some decent hard pack in between. Spent the first half of the run fighting back the lunch I had at Logan's. Sometimes I need a reminder that a huge meal before running is a bad idea, this was one of those reminders. Near the end of the orange loop I was met with a pleasant surprise. They've extended the loop by adding on about 3/4 of a mile. This makes the full run 12.25 miles & eliminates the need for the out & back on the road to round the mileage out. It's the little things in life.

Sunday saw temps rise to the mid 60s by evening giving me the perfect opportunity to try out a multisport trek. Got the bike out & cycled down to the legacy trail, ran 4 miles & cycled home. Making for a 16 mile day. Still need to work out some logistics for these treks but this was pretty close to perfect. Need to get the bike to the shop to get the gearing locked in, I'm not yet experienced enough to do this. I can get them close but really need this dialed in. Next week will be a repeat of what this week should have been, so another down week before the mileage goes up.

Kentucky ankle weights...

2016 Training Log : 1/18 - 1/24

Quality: 14 miles on Saturday for a long run.

Trail: N/A

Easy: 5 runs for 42 miles.

Total: 6 runs for 56 miles.

Great running weather this week, if your definition of great running weather includes lots of snow that is. No trail runs this week because of the weather but I did use the soccer fields for three of my runs for off road fun. Missed my run Tuesday but with the weather I'm really happy to get any running in.

Got out to the legacy trail on Wednesday for 12 miles, even without the marathon pace portion the snow pack gave a good workout. Returned on Saturday to get my long run in where the snow had turned from something you could run on top of to something you had to run through. Anywhere from 8-12" deep to above the knees in some places, luckily someone had driven a vehicle on parts of the trail giving me a sweet "single track" to run. This was relatively easy going unless it was a high traffic area where the many foot prints turned to ice. 14 miles of this was all I could take & it left me as worn out as a spring 20 miler, maybe more so.

This week I tried out a new approach to my outfit for my long run. During the winter months the wind on trail is at my back for the out portion & in my face for the back portion. This causes me to be drenched with sweat at the turn around if I'm dressed for the return trip, wet me + cold winds = Natecicle. For this trip I packed my AK vest with a change of shirt & gloves. Changing out of my wet shirt/gloves into some warm & dry ones was a godsend. Made the second half of the run enjoyable vs the normal sufferfest.

Sweet sweet single track...

2016 Training Log : 1/11 - 1/17

Quality: 12 miles with 6 at marathon pace on Thursday. 16 miles on Saturday for a long run.

Trail: 10 miles on Friday at CVP.

Easy: 4 runs for 20 miles.

Total: 6 runs for 58 miles.

Had to adjust the schedule this week as a result of the change up in the days I needed to be in the office. This had me all screwed up, I like sticking to my routines. Tuesday brought in some freak weather making my trail run for the day become four laps around the soccer fields by the house. Experienced everything from sunshine to white out conditions during the outing, gotta love that KY weather. Wasn't feeling it on Wednesday so skipped out on the easy run for the day.

Thursday through Saturday was an interesting stretch of running with wild swings in weather conditions. Marathon paced run, trail run & then long run all packed into three days. That'll put some hair on your chest for sure. This put me back on schedule, so I've got that going for me which is nice. Weather for next week looks fantastic...

Heading up Verney Hills at CVP.

2016 Training Log : 1/4 - 1/10

Quality: 12 miles with 6 at marathon pace on Wednesday. 16 miles on Sunday for a long run.

Trail: 11 miles on Monday at Skullbuster.

Easy: 4 runs for 18 miles.

Total: 6 runs for 57 miles.

Back to a full load mileage wise this week, with the exception of one missed run. Wicked rain storm came in Friday keeping me from doing a second trail run. This week also saw a bump of the MP run from 4 to 6 miles. Went out hunting on Saturday so swapped my Sunday easy run with my Saturday long run. Ended up getting home pretty late on Saturday so decided with the miles of walking in the woods to call it good.

By Sunday temperatures dropped into a more normal range for this time of year, no more days of 50 degrees & sunny. Wind also kicked up to a bone chilling 20+ mph. Over the years I've gotten better at dressing for the cold, but still could get a little better. The key to staying warm when the windchill drops to single digits or below is to not wear too much. If you're not cold to start the run then you're over dressed. Once you start moving the idea is to keep from sweating as being wet can get you into some serious trouble temperature wise. Next week is a repeat of the same, hopefully without the missed day. Schedule will be off by one day to accommodate a work function.

2015 Training Log : 12/28 - 1/3

Quality: 10 miles with 2 at marathon pace on Wednesday.

Trail: 12 miles on Saturday at Skullbuster.

Easy: 5 runs for 27 miles.

Total: 7 runs for 49 miles.

Last week of holiday madness where some runs were done at odd times just to get them in for the day. Glad for the cut back in mileage & can go into another 3 week hard cycle refreshed. Still pretty sloppy outside which gave me only one good day out on the trails, which ended up being a combo long & trail run. While out on the Skullbuster I ran by a bow hunter in his tree stand which caught me off guard as I thought hunting wasn't allowed on the trail. I think he was snoozing away up in the tree because he didn't react to my presence at all.

I've been creating segments here & there on Strava just for the fun of it, which may be a bad thing considering my competitive nature. For example, I created a segment for the loop around the soccer fields by my house & had the course record for it. It was a soft course record since I only run that loop for easy/recovery runs which lead to someone coming up & taking it. So naturally on my easy run for Thursday I ran up to the soccer fields & took it back by ~1 minute. Like I said, could be a bad thing...

Winter has arrived to the Skullbuster