December 29
Rest Day!
December 18
4.01 mile recovery run at a 8:50/mile pace. Had a bit in the tank since the past week was a recovery week. 4 good feelings miles were had today.
December 19
10.02 morning-ish miles at 8:55/mile. This was a stressful week already by Wednesday. Luckily I was able to get out around 9:30am from work to get this 10 miles in. I feel so blessed to be able to do this. I was able to enjoy the beautiful weather and an amazing morning. A lot can be said for getting to go out when you are super stressed at work. I was able to come back refreshed and hammer out a ton of work. I stayed super late and likely got 1.5 days worth of work done just because I was able to let go of all that stress.
December 20
6.01 treadmill miles at a 8:59/mile pace. What more can I say besides it was a treadmill. After the amazing day outside enjoying the beautiful day these were not nearly as fun but I still got them in! Getting in those miles is what counts most.
December 21
Rest day!
December 22
25:03 Saturday morning long run miles at a 9:32/mile pace. This was an incredibly day! Beautiful weather in the mid 30’s is pretty amazing weather for December in Wisconsin. Nutrition and hydration were spot in during the entire run. I did a full 12.5 (ish) miles out from Sun Prairie around the Wisconsin State Capitol and out towards Picnic Point. The run was beautiful and I feel so blessed to be able to see so much of the city during a run. The way back went really well. At no point did I feel like I was fading, as a matter of fact, I pushed it the last mile to see if the tank still had plenty of fuel in it. I got the fastest mile of the day during that last mile, under 9:00 minutes for the mile. These long runs are starting to feel much better and I’m finally feeling like the hydration and nutrition are getting dialed in. I knew Sunday would be tough and needed to fuel up and recovery for a quick turnaround.
December 23
13.01 morning miles at a 9:21/mile pace. I knew today would be tough since I had just run 25 miles the day before. My quads were insanely sore but I’m not sure you could expect anything less. I never really loosened up during the run but my hydration and nutrition were again spot on. I felt as if I had fully recovered when in regards to fueling my body.
Week Recap
This was an incredibly satisfying week of training. I managed to snag every mile on the calendar which totaled out to be 58.08 miles for a total time of 8:58:53 and 4,484 feet of elevation gain. There is a lot to be said about crushing a week of training. Given how daunting a 100 mile run to your mind and just in general, you really need to have these weeks. With roughly 3 months of training left in the bank time it is getting close. This coming week should technically be another build week but with a trip out to New York planned for Thursday through Sunday it’ll need to be a recovery week. I’ll plan accordingly, take the recovery week, and hit it hard in the coming weeks. At this point there is no time for slacking. Time to suck it up and hit it hard!
Photo credit: The Wisconsin State Capitol Christmas Tree on Saturday December 22nd, 2018. The tree is always amazing to see during the holidays!
Countdown – As of Sunday 12/23
40 days until the Sean O’Brien 50M in Malibu, CA (race now in Glendale, CA due to fire but same “event”)
109 days until the Zumbro 100 in Zumbro, MN
