Week 10: March 9-15
Monday: AM - BOMF 10 miles in 100 minutes, PM 4 miles in 45 minutes
Tuesday: 8 miles in 62 minutes Speed Central: ladder workout in minutes 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1
Wednesday: AM - 6 in 49 minutes, PM 4.2 in 33 minutes
Thursday: 3.5 in 28 minutes
Friday: 15 minutes on the bike then strength
Saturday: 12 miles in 100 minutes
Sunday: 14 miles in 2 hours
Total mileage: 61.6
Logged some good TOF on Monday with two separate walk/runs. First up was Back on My Feet in the AM where I ran/walked with a good group of people. In the afternoon I got out for a nice 45-minute run/walk with Nicole as she continues to rehab her knee. All told 14 easy miles was a great way to kick off the week. Tuesday evening, I went to Speed Central where we did a nice ladder workout in minutes 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1. I pushed the pace a bit on these but kept them pretty steady. The dominant conversation amongst all of us at the workout was on Coronavirus. Mostly we discussed how it impacted our races and our training. How quickly things would change in the next 48 hours.. Wednesday, I doubled again with an easy 6 in the am and 4 in the afternoon. This was the day where things in this country and in the world really started to escalate in regards to COVID-19. My plans for heading to Florida on Thursday started to look somewhat doubtful. I stuck to the plan, got in a short run in the AM, went to work with the intention of getting on a plane at 8PM. As the day went along it started to become clearer that spending a week traveling to Florida to spend a few days with my mom and then a spring break trip with Nicole to Asheville and Nashville was simply not going to happen. Every major sports league shut their seasons down, schools all over the country began shutting their doors and businesses sent employees home to work remotely. The phrases social distancing and flatten the curve had not been in my vocabulary before this and now it is all people talk about. Traveling to three different states, taking three flights and traveling in general in a time like this did not seem like the right thing to do. So instead on Thursday night Nicole and I drove down to CT to spend a few days with her parents and their little dogs. It was very nice to spend some time away and not be glued to the news channel for a bit. Friday I did a light strength training session but gave the running legs a break.
I logged 12 miles on Saturday around Wilton which was a quick reminder of how damn hilly CT is! Sunday, I went to Stamford to run with one of my clients, Greg R., who is training for his first marathon, NYC in November. We logged some nice easy miles together and afterwards I racked up some miles on my own to bring my total for the day to 14. A good week from a running stand point, 61 miles and change, but for the world it was a week of fear, worry and concern for the future of the world.
Week 11: March 16-22
Monday: 5.9 miles in 47 minutes
Tuesday: AM - 7.1 in 58 minutes, PM – 9.1 in 76 minutes (workout 6X200, 2X400, 2X100)
Wednesday: 11.15 miles in 90 minutes
Thursday: Off/rest
Friday: 6 miles in 51
Saturday: 7.66 mile hike
Sunday: 8 mile hike
Total mileage: 39.3 running, 15.66 hiking
We returned to Boston Monday morning and I logged a 6ish mile run to kick off the week. Tuesday, I joined one of my clients Greg M. for his scheduled light fartlek workout. He is returning to consistent running after taking a little cut back to heal up a slight injury and this was the first bit of intensity in his training plan in a couple weeks. We did 6 one minute at about 10k pace followed by 3 minutes easy, these were essentially extended strides and felt good to stretch the legs a bit. In the afternoon I joined a great squad of heartbreakers: Steph, Josh, Amy and Mick, for the scheduled heartbreaker workout. Despite all heartbreaker group runs canceled for the time being, it was great to get out and hit the track and push the speed with some really fast friends! We did 6 X 200 at 5k pace, 2 X 400 at 10k pace and 2 X 100 at mile pace/FAST! All told I racked up a nice 16 miles on Tuesday which had the legs feeling pretty worked. Wednesday, I got a total of 11 and change in along the Charles, this would be my last run with friends for the foreseeable future as it has become clear that we really need to distance ourselves from others, even the young and healthy fellow runners. I ran about 4-5 miles with Liz, Greg, Mick and Hem and then tacked on a few extra alone. It was a beautiful day and so naturally a ton of people were out running in the early evening to escape being cooped up all day in “work from home” or “remote class”. I am all for getting out and running and exercising during this time of anxiety and high stress, but it is becoming more clear that people need to avoid overcrowding the paths so personally I am going to run at off hours and in areas that do not typically clog up with runners, walkers and bikers. Thursday, I took an unplanned off day as I started to feel like a cold was coming on and just felt worn down. I took a long 2-hour nap during the middle of the day which was just what the doctor ordered. Friday, I took another 6-mile lap along the river before Nicole and I headed up to the white mountains for a weekend of hiking in the woods! We hiked East Osceola and Osceola on Saturday; total mileage was about 7.6 with a significant amount of climbing. Despite the warm temps in New England this winter there was a solid 3+ feet of snow on the ground the entirety of this hike, the trail was hard packed snow so having microspikes was a must, especially for the steep portions. Sunday, we hit Mount Moosilaukee which was spectacular! Both days we had perfect weather, blue skies, sunny and warm with a nice breeze. Moosilaukee was by far my favorite 4,000-footer to date, the 360 views along the carriage road and at the summit were breathtaking. A fantastic weekend away with very few people on the trails it was a great way to social distance and also separate from the onslaught of unavoidable news when at home and looking at my phone more regularly. These are challenging times and truly an unprecedented crisis we are dealing with. Staying active, getting outdoors for solo runs, walks, hikes etc. are super important ways to take care of your mental and physical wellbeing.
One of the many races/events impacted by COVID-19 was my 50 mile race in April, Jack Bristol Ultra. Disappointing for me to have this race taken off my calendar, but as with all athletes who have had their race calendars impacted, this needs to be approached as an opportunity to work on things that sometimes get neglected and or forgotten during more focused intense training. For myself, I am staying on schedule with the hopes of completing a 50 mile race (probably virtual) this spring and then the Vermont 100 in July. Fingers crossed this all passes quickly and with as few people affected as possible and we can get back to racing in the summer and fall. For anyone without a race to train for, please feel free to comment or reach out directly and I will share my suggestions for how to approach training during these difficult times.