Weekly Recaps (Jan. 1 - Feb. 24)
Warning: LOTS OF WORDS (AND LITTLE ELSE) BELOW
Week 1: January 1-7
Monday: 12.00 miles UT loop around hometown
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 10.00 miles UT loop through Jockey Hollow State Park w/ friends
Friday: Off
Saturday: 5.3 miles UT on the treadmill due to snowstorm
Sunday: Off
Total Weekly Mileage: 27.2 miles in 3 runs
This week was not great. I was a bit too ambitious coming off a minor hiccup in training (a euphemism for an injury that isn’t painful enough to stop running but nearly is) and reaggravated some aches and pains in my Achilles. Not a great start to the 3000 mile year! I suppose that’s what happens when you double mileage from one week to the next. The 10 miler on Thursday, while it was fun to catch up with friends on a hilly jog through the forests of New Jersey, really showed my lack of fitness. So I would definitely say this week was characterized by self-doubt and shame, if I’m being honest. I knew I would have a long way to go before averaging 58 miles a week, the number required to hit 3000 miles in one year.
Week 2: January 8-14
Monday: 5.4 miles: post flight, did not feel good whatsoever
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: 8.0 miles, super windy
Thursday: 8.4 miles, treadmill felt ok
Friday: 10.4 miles, treadmill, felt really good
Saturday: 10.5 miles, treadmill, definitely a bit tired after a late night
Sunday: OFF
Total Weekly Mileage: 42.7 miles in 5 runs
Took a slightly smarter approach here and planned some off days and intentionally limited daily mileage to roughly 10 miles. After a mild start to the week, the weather definitely took a turn for the worst and was pretty much relegated to the treadmill after Thursday. In retrospect, I feel as though this may have been a. Although this is definitely a point of contention amongst runners, I am convinced that treadmill running is easier on the body than going outside. However, I also believe that, all else equal, one does not get the same physiological benefits on the treadmill as running outside. Either way, I made sure to keep the pace honest and pump the “tready” incline up a bit to compensate. We’ll see in the spring if all of boring, “run-of-the-mill” miles in the IM pay off.
Week 3: January 15-21
Monday: 10.1 miles on the treadmill
Tuesday: 11.0 miles on the treadmill
Wednesday: 11.74 miles Outside!!
Thursday: OFF
Friday: 10.1 miles, nothing to note. More treadmill, or as they say, “dreadmill”.
Saturday: 9.7 miles, felt exceptionally bad here, dry but cold. With a friend though, he definitely helped motivate me through this
Sunday: OFF
Total Weekly Mileage: 52.6 miles in 5 miles
This was another cold weather week, but overall I was really proud of myself for gutting through some tough runs both on the treadmill and outside. It is really tough to get up early when its freezing in the morning, and it definitely takes a while to “warm up” into it. But, it’s totally worth it. Also, I’ve been able to lock into a nice rhythm with school and everything else, and I’ve also been able to keep on top of nutrition and pre/post run fueling. However, I’ve definitely had a pretty easy start to the semester, so I’m wondering if I am able to keep this up once things get busier. This week also was a clarion reminder of how having a training partner is so mutually beneficial. Looking forward to running with more people more often in the future.
Week 4: January 22-28
Monday: 12.55 miles in 1:28:03 (7:01 min/mi avg) - Up to North Campus w/ a big loop and back
Tuesday: 12.00 miles in 1:28:00 (6:55 min/mi avg) - Treadmill
Wednesday: 11.25 miles in 1:21:19 (7:15 min/mi avg) - North Campus via Broadway St.
Thursday: OFF
Friday: 11.10 miles in 1:18:03 (7:02 min/mi avg) Down B2B and around Huron High School up to North Campus and back to Central Campus)
Saturday: 13.00 miles (Down Geddes around E Huron Parkway and down Arlington Blvd and back)
Sunday: OFF
Total Weekly Mileage: 59.9 Miles in 5 runs
This week started off well, but some adverse weather made it hard to get in quality runs outside. It was definitely an improvement over last week, however. I’ve also been upping weekly mileage over the past few weeks, so I definitely started feeling run down physically and mentally over the course of the week. Part of that is natural, but I’ve also been slacking on the rest and recovery end of things. I have not been properly fueling, and there were definitely times this week I felt the consequences of that. Also, it would be smart to stretch + do core workouts immediately after runs instead of pushing it off and not doing it at all. Those may seem like little details, but I’ve learned over the course of my running career that what you are doing when you are not running is just as important as the runs themselves when it comes to maintaining consistency. Thus, they will be crucial in completing my New Year’s resolutions. It would also be nice to have a running partner, so please let me know if you would like to go on a run.
Week 5: January 29-February 4
Monday: 11.84 miles: felt ok
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: 13.2 miles: super nice weather here
Thursday: 12.1 miles: felt really good!
Friday: 10.6 miles, nothing to note
Saturday: 4.5 miles, felt exceptionally bad here
Sunday: 11.3 miles, much better than yesterday
Total Weekly Mileage: 63.5 miles in 6 runs
I definitely feel myself getting fitter and stronger as the weeks progress on, which is super encouraging. The one thing I will say, however, is that I felt the cumulative effects of mileage catching up with me. Especially on Saturday. A lack of proper nutrition and stretching caused me to cut that run well short because of how atrociously bad it was going. It was a much needed reminder that I cannot be burning the candle on both ends. That being said, I still hit the mileage required to average 3,000 miles this year. The goal from here-on-in is to average a bit more than 60 miles a week to compensate for some lower mileage weeks earlier on this year. As with anything else in life, however, consistency is key.
Week 6: February 5-February 11
Monday: 12.85 miles untimed over hilly route, fast finish felt good
Tuesday: 11.87 miles in 83 minutes on North Campus, averaged 7 minute pace. Felt tired after yesterday
Wednesday: 12.04 miles, felt groggy early on but caught a nice sunrise. Flat route was much appreciated. Cold!
Thursday: 13.00 miles. Warmy weather today so taking advantage of this and ran it a bit farther than planned.
Friday: 10.7 miles. Shorts and a tshirt in a Michigan February is wild, but that’s what I wore. Felt not too shabby. Windy though
Saturday: 16.00 miles. Longest run in a while to cap off a great week of training
Sunday: OFF
Total Weekly Mileage: 76.4 miles in 6 days
In retrospect I am super proud of this week. I was able to run six days and get out the door most days despite some adverse conditions and not feeling the most motivated at certain points. I’ve come to learn that running, and many things in life, revolve around delayed gratification. Of course, most people probably think of delayed gratification as working hard and sacrificing time and energy for the sake of future reward. This is definitely true. However, this week, delayed gratification looked more like restraining myself on Monday and Tuesday so that I could finish off the week very strongly without feeling beat up. My fitness has taken a jump over the past month, and that has been very gratifying to see. I plan to test my fitness in about two months at the Big House 5k, so we’ll see how well these miles pay off then.
Week 7: February 12-18
Monday: 11.6 miles Untimed, pretty lethargic even after a day of no running. Hilly and cold.
Tuesday: 12.8 miles. On the whole felt better than yesterday but ice cream from the night before was not sitting well in my stomach…
Wednesday: 16.62 miles. Lots of miles earlier this week.
Thursday: Unplanned off day. Was just not feeling it today.
Friday: 13.00 miles pre road trip. Ran decently hard. Cold
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF
Total Weekly Mileage: 54.02 miles in 4 days.
I definitely fell off the wagon this week, and it was mostly due to some familiar culprits, namely inadequate sleep and fueling. Sleep was put on the backburner. I was definitely not prioritizing meals that were nutritionally sound immediately post-run. Also, the end of half-semester and the deadline pressure associated with this mad dash to Spring Break accentuated life stressors. That, in effect, created a perfect storm for not recovering and not adhering to the plan I set for myself. By Thursday I was already pretty run down and could not get myself to throw on running gear before classes started. Friday was a nice rebound day, but unfortunately I could not run either Saturday or Sunday since I was traveling to a conference in Indianapolis. Overall, this week left me feeling pretty defeated. I knew that the following two weeks would be similarly inconsistent due to vacationing over spring break, so I was looking to squeeze as many runs in as possible during the beginning and middle of February. While I am oftentimes too harsh on myself, I simply cannot understand how many times I need to learn the lesson that I am not Superman. In fact, I am far from invincible. This is something that will be even more apparent as I age and recovery slows even further.
Week 8: February 19-24
Monday: 12.7 miles Untimed. Felt fresh after two days off and started wearing new Adidas running shoes.
Tuesday: 11.75 miles Untimed. Yesterday was hard so took is pretty easy today. Stomach problems.
Wednesday: 15.8 miles in 1:43. Not much to say about this run. Ran a pretty flat route.
Thursday: OFF
Friday: 19.0 miles. Super long Run before a week off during spring break
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF
I felt a bit better about this week than the last, but I was still largely disappointed in myself. Those aforementioned life stressors definitely increased, so even though I wanted to run on Thursday my body was screaming at me to take a day off. Or, maybe, it was that voice in my head that seeks comfort above all else. In a way, I am happy I can truthfully write about this week to end off the weekly recap section of this site. As you may have noticed, lots of things did not go to plan during the past 8 weeks. High school me would've been freaking out at this point, but I've learned to separate the runner in me from my core identity. I think most people understand that tying their identity to something performance-related is a recipe for disaster. and inner turmoil. Not to say I don't do this. It's something I still struggle with immensely.
Total Weekly Mileage: 59.25 miles in 4 days