Treadmill Climb.
Workout went like this:
10 minute warmup
20 minutes @ 10% grade @ 9:30 pace
10 minute cooldown
After Saturdays 18 miler on pavement I took off Sunday to let the ol' bones rest. I was definitely sore on Sunday, not from the miles (18 miles on 2 GU's actually felt fine), just a hunch, but I think it was the complete lack of stretching before AND after that led to the extra soreness and stiffness in the joints. Anyway, because I was a tad on the stiff side, I cut todays treadmill climb short. My left patella was super tight, as were my hammys. And any extension of my left knee was borderline painful to the touch, but mostly more or less a "stiff" feeling.
1,110'
Tuesday - 12/20/11
Track Workout:
3 x 800 (2:22, 2:25, 2:24)
1 mile warm up followed by 1 mile straights and curves.
Wow, I was totally surprised that I was able to bust out low to mid 2:20's right now. I was planning on keeping them around 2:30 'ish for this time of year, but after my first 800, I figured I would try to push out a couple more a little faster than I had originally planned.
The combination of hill climbs and track sessions every week have been gold!
Wednesday - 12/21/11
Horsetooth Rock Summit.
Starting from the Horsetooth liquor store I jogged to the main TH then ran:
Falls > Rock Trail > South Ridge > Rock Trail > Summit > Rock Trail > South Ridge > TH > back to truck
The trails were a mix of dry dirt and nasty, slippery packed snow (ice!) in the shady areas. I took my time on the climb as I wasnt trying to push very hard..just a nice day out to enjoy the views and fill up the lungs with fresh air. The last 1/4 to the summit was rough, and took over 5 minutes, as it was a complete sheet of ice! Try running up knarly climbs and steep descents on what felt like an ice hockey rink, wearing nothing but a pair of rubber on your soles.....Umm, yeah it was slippery and a SLOW go. The views up top were just great...as always. And the first 1/4 mile on the way back down was even slower than on the way up, as I did everything I could to prevent myself from simply sliding down...and off the trail. Once I got to dry dirt again...all was good and I was on my way.
Total Time : 1hr 16 min
1,500'
Thursday - 12/22/11
Treadmill climb.
Workout went like this:
10 minute warmup
38 minutes @ 10% grade @ 9:30 pace
2 minutes @ 15% grade @ 10 minute pace
5 minute cooldown
Ughhh....wow, this one stung! I was going to run the entire climb at 10% grade but at about 35 minutes in, I decided to crank it to the max for the final 2 minutes of the climb....15% grade! I did slow it down to 10 min pace for this brutal stretch. Even so, it was a lung buster! and my calves were tight from the steep grade. Anyway..super big grunt of a workout. Was glad to sit down and stretch for a bit afterwards.
2,317'
Friday - 12/23/11
Pineridge.
This has to have been the hardest "easy" run I have done in awhile. After a decent 10 inches of snowfall the other night, the trails have been pretty hard to run. Basically, it went something like this: Step into 10 inches of fresh snow, then land and crunch through the old layer of snow/ice mix of an additional several inches, then push off and slip....then repeat for several miles. Yeah, I basically did "high Knees" for 50+ minutes today. Quite the easy day workout.
Total Time: 53:25
Saturday - 12/24/11
OFF
Sunday - 12/25/11
OFF
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Overall, a very quality week of running. Surprisingly so, after my initial post long run soreness from last Saturdays lack of stretching. Speed session was faster than I had planned and had a couple of days of decent vertical. Saturday and Sunday ( and maybe even Monday ) were off days. A little down time, after a solid week of running...is always a great way to recover. And most importantly ....spend time with friends and family on Christmas Eve and Christmas day! A great time of the year to drink some Nog by the fireplace, munch on some truffles...and let the muscles recover and do their thing on these needed recovery days.
Which brings me to another area I have been thinking about. I have come to realize that consistency is a REALLY important tool in becoming more fit and achieving my running goals. And the evidence is in my weekly track workouts and treadmill climbs. Therefore, for my New Years resolution for 2012....I plan to run everyday of the year! Barring injury or illness, of course. And by running, I mean anything over 1 mile of continuous running. So that also includes easy recovery days and pre-race easy jog days. So because of that, it is actually a pretty reasonable goal for the year.
Anyway, I am pretty excited as I am sure that year-round consistency in training is one of the best things an athlete can do to achieve his/her running goals. Here's to 2012!!
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