Now, for the monthly training report:
Overall, November was a very solid month for training and racing. I’m pleased with how things went. I had one minor setback (a very tight left soleus) and was forced to take several days off during Thanksgiving week, but training was back to normal within about 5 days.
I raced twice this month – the Candy Cane City 5k and the Gobble Wobble 5k – and both races went very well. I won the Candy Cane 5k while coming in 4th in the Gobble Wobble (but running 15 seconds faster than last year!). I set my road 5k PR during the first race in 16:24. It’s not close to my 16:02 track 5k PR, but I’ll take it for now.
With my tight soleus, I was lucky to have a physical therapist in the family. My future sister-in-law gave me two great massage sessions with her Graston tools
Here are the weekly summaries:
11/1 – 11/7: 67 miles in 7 runs with a 16 mile long run. I had a great negative split workout on the track this week, doing 6x600m in 1:59, 1:57, 1:55, 1:54, 1:52, and 1:50. Core work was consistent.
11/8 – 11/14: 70 miles in 7 runs with a 17 mile long run. I ran a similar workout this week with 800’s in 2:37, 2:36, 2:34, 2:30, and 2:28. Saturday I won the Candy Cane City 5k.
11/15 – 11/20: 50 miles in 6 runs with a 12 mile medium-long run. This is when my soleus starting getting very tight so I cut my long run on Saturday and took Sunday off. Big thanks to my sister-in-law for her PT skills! Earlier in the week I ran a great workout: 2 miles at tempo pace in 11:13 (splitting 5:38 and 5:34), then 4×800 in 2:33, 2:30, 2:28, and 2:26.
11/22 – 11/28: 23 miles in 5 runs. This week was mostly recovery with the Gobble Wobble 5k on Thanksgiving. I placed 4th in 16:32 on a challenging course, 15 seconds faster than what I ran last year. I did a lot of strength work this week.
11/29 + 11/30: Easy 9 and 7 miles. I’m easing back into base training now so I won’t do many workouts. My focus now is on building mileage over the next two months to about 85 per week. Spring half-marathon, here I come!
With all those 5k races this fall season, I’m looking forward to taking a break from racing. With four races (three 5k’s and one 8k) in October and November, I need a longer block of training where I don’t have to worry about racing. I mentioned a few weeks ago that my goal is to run a fall marathon in 2011. As preparation, a spring half-marathon is in order.
After seeing so many other runners complete marathons, like Greg, Pete, and Dave, I’m excited about the distance again and to test myself. I have only run one marathon – New York 2008 in 2:44 – and I’m itching to lower that time.
For more detail on my daily training, check me out on Daily Mile. It’s a great online training log and community for runners.
Solving My Shoe Riddle
I may have found a solution to my shoe predicament. Last month I mentioned that I had started to dislike the ASICS Speedstars, which have been my go-to shoe for years. With the 4th iteration, they’re bulkier and the upper feels a lot thicker. The 5th version looks similar.
A reader emailed me (thanks!) and told me to try the ASICS DS-Racer. I’ve used the DS-Trainers before and really liked them so I think I’m going to give this shoe a try. The Racers seem to be a hybrid of the Hyper Speeds and the DS-Trainers – two shoes that worked very well for me. Has anybody worn the DS-Racers and really liked them?
Mileage:
Monthly Mileage: 226
Annual Mileage: 2,739
