Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Monday: 9 miles / 58 minutes W/ Alex. Nice run from the Keene High School out to some trails and eventually connected back via the rail road bed. Closed out the last mile or so nice and fast.
Tuesday: 9.5 miles / 62 minute W/ Alex and Dylan. We hit some nice hilly back-roads around Peterborough and Sharon. Entire body is a tad sore.
Wednesday: 9 miles/ 58 minutes on some pretty technical trails in Andover. Taking advantage of the trails so long as they're available! Legs are feeling mostly better.
Thursday: 10 miles/ 69 minutes. Met Tim for 10 on the river trail from the hotel. Legs felt good once I got into it. Closed out the last couple miles at a nice crisp pace.
Friday: 6 miles/ 40 minutes After a 10 hour work day and limited sleep the last couple nights, I really wasn't sure whether running today could be of any benefit. I got out there in the dark and slogged a 6 miler... well, it felt like slogging, but after mapping it out I guess I was running 6:40's. Sitting here now I'm still not sure if running was the best idea, but loosening up the legs can't have been a bad thing. Back to work in the morning.
Saturday: 0 off - got out of work and headed straight out to meet up with Lauren. Had a great New Years with family and friends, and out for a really great jam session at the Musacchios'.
Sunday: 5 / 32 minutes easy with Alex in the morning. Felt sluggish.

Total: 50 miles on 6 days. Okay week. Still working on the consistency. but the runs have been of greater quality.



Monday, December 19, 2011

Base Training!

Monday: 75 minutes (10 mi?) on trails from Ward connecting through to Harold-Parker and back. Got pretty lost a couple times but luckily found my back in time for lunch before the evening shift. Whew... Good run!
Tuesday: 58 minutes (8 mi) easy morning run with a couple MVS runners. Headed out around 5:30am, a tad too early to feel normal, but still a nice run. 13 hours later I headed out for a quick run to and from the MVS practice (5.5 mi) for 13.5 on the day. 10 minute core plus some hip mobility exercises.
Wednesday: 55 minutes (8.25 mi) with Timmy Mallard romping on the hills of Pelham. What a great run. Some people just make great training partners and Tim is one of 'em.
Thursday: 3 easy am. busy couple days ahead of me going to fit in as much running as possible, but working all the way up to Christmas eve will make it tough! missed the evening run...
Friday: 5 easy at 10pm just trying to fit it in. Work at 8am tomorrow, tiring day.
Saturday: 0 off, Merry Christmas eve!...
Sunday: 11 steady with Alex in Marlborough. The hills around here are massive, but the reward is 2.5 miles of downhill cruising to cap off a good run. Last few miles were around 5:40 pace which feels pretty good on a 3-4% grade. We were throwing in surges here and there and the last one caused the plantar on my left foot to feel like it was on fire. Merry Christmas!!

45 miles total.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Training

M: 10 nice and easy, calf sore.
T: 8 with drills, core, strides.
W: 8 steady around Andover. Started out unusually quick today. Usually don't feel that great until 2-3 miles into a run.
R: 9 (1:04) easy night run on Andover roads. Had a GI issue most of the day and was pleasantly surprised to feel okay on the run. Calf was sore this morning but didn't bother me while running.
F: 8 easy on the river trail starting at the hotel. Never really got into it today. Dehydrated.
S: 0 Errands followed by work until 9pm, then drove to Southwestern CT. Almost dragged Alex out the door for a jog but we fell asleep around a monopoly board instead... not exactly champion mentality, but I was exhausted!
S: 8 steady with Alex in Ridgefield on trails and roads. Moved along at a good clip. Cold this morning! Calf a tad tight, probably from all the driving and the day off yesterday. Spent the afternoon in the hospital visiting Nana and drove home after dinner.

Total: 51 miles... It has been a little too long since I had a 'good' week, but I'm determined to keep at it. Despite a lack of workouts, I feel just a tad stronger and more fit than last week. A good sign.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Training

M: 0 Well, I suppose fortunately the reason for all the zeros is not due to injury or personal disaster. The call I got on Sunday morning was from my cousin describing how he and my uncle had found my grandma on the floor at home. She had a stroke, a bad one, and the doctor whom they'd spoken to said, basically, to expect the worst. At that moment, Lauren and I packed our bags and headed to Connecticut until Tuesday night. I honestly could have run, and maybe I should have just to keep up a routine, but I just never had the desire. It was really special to see my grandma make a huge turnaround, begin recovering from brain surgery and some other smaller operations, as well as to see McGraths from all over the country flying and driving in to be there. No regrets about this week at all... Family always comes first for me.
T: 0
W: 0
R: 6.5 easy just getting back into stride.
F: 10 Harder mostly on trails and around town in Andover
S: 6 Just fitting in a run since I had to work so darn early. Heading to CT straight form work so we'll see what happens.
S: 9 Ran with Dad. we were both in CT visiting my grandma in the hospital. we cruised along steadily on a mixture of roads and trails and had a nice chat about where we've been and where we hope to be in the future. Always nice running in hilly Ridgefield, CT.