Backtracking Part II: Sept 20 - 26

Monday, September 20 - Recovery Run
6.01M, 45:28
Garmin Data

Tuesday, September 21 - Easy Run/Turnover
am: 8.26M, 58:39
Garmin Data
pm: 6.88M, 53:02, (8x200 fast, relaxed)
Garmin Data

Wednesday, September 22 - Easy Run/Tempo 400s
am: 4.74M, 33:21
Garmin Data
pm: 13.53M, 1:25:37 (16x400, 30sec R, 72.9 avg)
Garmin Data

Thursday, September 23 -Recovery Run
5.10, 36:49
Garmin Data

Friday, September 24 - Easy Run/Hilly Loops (3)
am: 5.0M, 35:26
Garmin Data
pm: 15.13, 1:39:23
Garmin Data

Saturday, September 25 - Recovery Run
6.01M, 44:28
Garmin Data

Sunday, September 26 - Long Run
33.86M, 3:46:44
Garmin Data

Total Week Miles: 104.43
Total Week Time:11hr, 59min, 03sec

Another solid week capped with perhaps my best long, long training run ever. Tempo 400s on Wednesday started off a little rough, but I got more comfortable throughout and ended up finishing it solidly. I intended to do four hilly loops on Friday evening, but the conditions turned out to be pretty epic (rain and 30mph+ winds) and in order to avoid frostbite on top of Quincy Hill I headed home after three.

As I said before, Sunday's long run was historically great for me. It wasn't the fastest or the easiest, but for where I'm at and how I handled it both mentally and physically, it tops my list of all-time great workouts.

Five loops of a really beautiful loop around Point Mills with the fall colors near their peak. It doesn't get much better. I found the first 2+ loops to be so-so; not hard, not easy. As it usually is with long runs on multiple loop courses, it's difficult to avoid getting caught up in how much running there is to go. The reason I was so happy with this run is that I had a couple of definite bad patches in the 20-30 mile range, but I was really able to keep my wits about me and manage the effort. Loop 5 was difficult, but in a weird way thinking about JFK and the fact that when I reached the end of the loop I would still have 16 miles to go made it easier. I relaxed, focused on drinking as much as my stomach would let me and generally tried to let my mind wander.

I have two more long, long runs planned in October and I'm confident that they will go as well as this one. I think the key has been to stop expecting/hoping that they go perfectly or feel easy and instead accept the fact they are going to be hard and feel rough at times, but so will JFK. Running 50 miles is primarily mental and that is what I'm working on the most during the long, long runs. Training specifically I guess.