Merely a Weekly Update

Another week, another decent accumulation of miles.  Last week turned out like this:

• Monday - 5 miles, easy/recovery
• Tuesday - 8 miles, progression run
• Wednesday - 11 miles in frigid conditions
• Thursday - AM: 6.5+ miles on trails; PM: 4M slow on the treadmill in Nike Free Runs
• Friday - 10.3+ moderate miles
• Saturday - 7 gorgeous trail miles
• Sunday - 17.3 hilly miles at an 8:10 average pace, with some fast miles dropped in from miles 10-15

The week's total was a bit over 69 miles, and I'm especially proud of not adding that extra mile to get to 70.  Since this is only "base building", these are mostly easy miles, though my easy paces seem faster while my heart rate is back in line with where I thought it should be. Also, the hips - while reminding me not to take them for granted - seem to be faring much better on the hills.  Saturday and Sunday involved lots of climbing, and my hips held up fine (though I didn't exactly push it up the hills). 

My last 3 weeks have been 59, 63 and 69 miles, and I feel better than I did when I was stuck in the 40's.  That's an encouraging sign as I say goodbye to 2010, a pretty disappointing running year in a number of ways.  A "Year In review" post may soon follow.

Now, I need to figure out how to put together my quality workouts for a 12-week marathon buildup that has me peaking at the exact right time, say April 18, 2011, with the hopes of running a decent marathon for the first time since May 2009.

Oh, and it might merit mention that I signed up for my first official ultra, a small 50K (or 50++K, as it's billed) in mid-February.  Details to follow on that upcoming adventure.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays, whatever you do or don't celebrate.

Cheers, ESG/Ron