Wednesday, 2/13

60 minutes easy, roughly 8 miles total in North Andover.

Workout Tuesday

Back to school and the kids are already screaming for vacation. It was a busy day but if flew by and before I knew it, I was staring at the Jones 10 fewer than 2 weeks away. Time to work out again for a change!

I warmed up 3 miles, 7:15, 6:38, 6:29. Stretched briefly, hit the john, and then straight into 5 x Mile @ 5:12 with 1/4 mile recovery at 6:40 pace (1:35-1:45).  I hit 6 miles in 32:52 and felt awesome. Cooled down 2 for 10.5 on the day.

Now off to some coaching at Andover High.

Monday

School was cancelled... and man I did not see that coming! Met up with Alliette and we cruised 10.3 easy on Andover roads. A little sketchy out there with narrow lanes a bit of traffic, but luckily we got out there after the bulk of rush hour had passed. Protein shake, banana and straight to the gym to meet up with Greg. This is my future brother-in-law and he's a beast on the court and in the weight room, standing at 6'4" 205 lbs. It feels a little odd trading sets and spotting for him, but he's great company and has definitely improved my knowledge for how to lift effectively. I did 4x12 sets of bench press at 95, 105, 115 and 135. 4x12 sets of military press at 70 lbs, 4x12 sets of triceps extensions at 40-50lbs and 4x115lbs lat pull-downs. Finished up with another 3.7 moving down to 6:20 pace on the treadmill for 14 total on the day. Workout tomorrow must happen. Picturing 6 x mile at 5:15 on 2 minutes recovery.

Sunday

9 miles / 61 minutes easy on sloppy roads. I was so sore from shoveling yesterday I held off the gym session for tomorrow. Even my abs are sore! Resting HR is below 40 for the first time in a while. Must be getting fit! Now if only I could find the will to resist the enormous batch of cookies from the other night... there are only 2 left! 2 weeks of Spartan focus leading up to Jones should have me primed for a shot at sub-54.

Saturday

Snowshoeing the Skuj River Trail this morning was difficult to say the least. Snowdrifts up to my waist and average depth just above the knee while trying to run had me exhausted almost instantly. I was anaerobic within minutes, and ended up powerhiking 35 minutes out and turning around. It was nice to be able to run almost the entire way back following my tracks. The scenery was beautiful and it was refreshing not to hear the constant traffic that usually sounds in the distance. Back home and it was 2 and 1/2 hours of shoveling clearing our cars and then helping a few neighbors out.

Friday: Back on it

Trail run around 6 PM from the apartment. I think most runners I know prefer to hit the roads early before a storm strikes, but I have fun being out there in the thick of it. Hit the trails for 65 minutes of sliding around. Back home to stretch. La and I whipped up a batch of butterscotch oatmeal cookies.

While they were baking I did a quick core session of 3 by:

40 sit-ups,
30 push-ups,
30s side planks,
10 pull ups.

Last 10 pull ups were a struggle, but I got it done with decent form. Good and tired afterward. Looking forward to a sweet snowshoe run tomorrow!

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Not much to report...

Tuesday was off. Spent the day at the hospital for a procedure (not mine) and simply didn't have the opportunity to get out.

Wednesday was 'better than nothing'. I ran about 5 miles while coaching with several stretches of sub 6:00 pace thrown in there. I don't like to run while coaching but when the option is to move around a bit or freeze, I choose the former! Great session for several athletes.

Thursday was off again. Feeling zapped and run down plus an unexpectedly long work day. No sense in slogging on a full stomach after dinner It's all good, though. I'll be on my game for this weekend's snow festivities... picturing lots of slow snowshoeing and maybe a treadmill workout if the gym has power!

Definitely not a winning mentality. But, I'll be getting after it again soon enough.

Sunday and Monday

Sunday:

Hectic day with church, trying to get work done before superbowl festivities plus spending time with our godson at his birthday party. Knee was aching from the moment I got up so I called off the run and got in a solid lift session instead. Feeling strong. 3 sets of: 15x25 lb curls, 12x100 lb lat pull-downs, 12x60 lb military press, 3x30 push-ups, 12x40 lb triceps extensions.

Monday: 8.5 miles at 6:02 average. Warmed up over 2 miles (13:25) steadily climbing and then clobbered the remaining 6.5. Probably ran too hard, but it felt so good to be recovered from Boston Prep and back in action. Last 2.5 miles at 5:35s over rolling hills. 

Friday and Saturday

Friday:

First real run back. Wasn't sure how it would go, but pretty quickly below 6:30s and kept it there. Felt awesome. No issues with the hamstring. 9 miles / 60 minutes

Saturday:

Slow run this afternoon. Had an allergic reaction last night that really had me feeling fried today. Still got in 65 minutes of running on trails. 

Thursday

This appears to be a week of mediocrity (or recovery)! I jogged for 30 minutes on trails from the apartment. Turned around after 15 because the hamstring was very tight, but no longer sore. When I got home I rolled out for about 10 minutes, then slammed out 3 sets of: 25 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and 10 pull-ups on about 30 seconds rest.

I anticipate I'll have a real run after work on Friday. I'm aiming for 70 minutes on the reservation trails connecting Ward and Harold Parker. Should be awesome! Glycogen levels are definitely back to normal and I'm feeling ready to start rolling again.