Push week

I looked at my spreadsheet last weekend and saw that with one week to go in April I was sitting at only 75 miles. I ran 113, and 115 miles in Feb. and Mar. respectively. I thought that with a little push I could finish up the month with 115. That meant 40 miles for the week which shouldn't be too hard except that I had to take Monday off to take care of two sick kids and a sick wife. I haven't run 6 days a week in quite a while, I usually take 2 days a week to lift weights in the gym.

Tuesday 4/26 (6.1mi, 47min, 7:42/mi) As I've been running the "Pro Club Loop" route over the last few years I've noticed a little wooded trailhead off the side of the road at the Southwest corner of the route. I checked it out on Google Maps satellite view to see how big it was and decided to give it a try. It's 2.5 miles out to the park, when I got there I found a nicely groomed dirt path and followed it to see where it went. It turned out to be a 0.4mi loop on the side of a hill. There was a decent bit of climbing on the short route. As I was Running at lunch I didn't have a lot of time to spend there so I ran 3 loops, alternating direction each loop before returning to work. It was a very nice trail to run, it's just a shame that it's not longer.

Wednesday 4/27 (6.2mi, 49min, 7:56/mi) My hamstrings were a little tight after Tuesday's run. I ran the Pro Club loop clockwise at a modest pace. The weather was pretty dreary with rain and dark skies.

Wednesday 4/27 (8.1mi, 1h 11m, 8:47/mi) Run #2 of the day. I found myself at work late so I went out for another run, planning to run 10 miles. I started out feeling good heading down toward Grass Lawn Park and then going up Old Redmond Rd toward the Powerline trail. As I got onto the Powerline trail my stomach started to feel very empty. Vortex-trying-to-collapse-in on-itself empty. I didn't have any food with me, only water. I started to bonk pretty badly in short time which surprised me after having a decent lunch and afternoon snack before the run. I stopped to walk for a minute as I reached the Bridle Trails to see if I could shake off the brain fuzz I was feeling. I was about 2.5mi away from work so I'd  have to make it at least that far. The only think I could think to do was drink more water to at least have something in my stomach and try to keep running.

I started to perk up in about 10 minutes and my pace came back to the 9min/mi range. I thought I was safely out of the woods at that point and extended my route through the Bridle Trails. As I left the Bridle Trails and back down the Corridor trail I started to bonk again. I didn't want to slow down as every step was one closer to work (and food!). I was able to hold on and suffer back to work but I had to lay down on the floor of the stretching area in the gym for a few minutes and try to catch my breath. I can't remember the last time I've been that beaten down after a run. I'm still not sure what happened either. I thought I was good on hydration, nutrition, and pace.

Thursday 4/28 (6.2mi, 52min, 8:21/mi) With fond memories of Tuesday's run up to Viewpoint Park I went back out there for 3 more loops. I timed them for splits of: 4:26, 4:27, and 4:19. I wasn't feeling very strong and my body is starting to tire from the uptick in mileage this week but it was still enjoyable running this new trail.

Friday 4/29 (6.4, 49min, 7:40/mi) I was tired and a little sore from the previous 4 runs but I still able to keep a pretty good pace with only one hilly mile that was > 8:00. I ran out the Corridor trail and through the power line trail, down to Grass Lawn park where I ran up and down the gravel path. After that I ran back up the hill to work. I worked on running efficiently, standing upright with a slight forward lean and taking shorter but quicker steps. I can feel the difference in my calves but it's not as bad any more. I'm still loving running in the Merrell Trail Gloves.

Sunday 5/1 (4.4, 32min, 7:14/mi) I didn't get out for a Saturday run that would have put me over 115mi for April. #FAIL. The flu struck our house and it seems that everyone but me got it at some point. Hmmm. I'm the only one that runs, the only one that doesn't get flu shots, and the only one that didn't get the flu. Coincidence? I only had about 45 minutes before dinner for my run so I threw on shorts and a shirt (it was in the low 60's today. Finally!) and ran a quick One Store Loop. I ran it CCW for a change. I kept the pace high almost the whole time and came in just under 32 minutes. According to my spreadsheet this is the fastest I've run the route by about 40 seconds. My Piriformis was still a little sore during the run which held me back some but I was able to push a good threshold pace the whole time. I sure does feel great to finish a run after pushing yourself hard and gasping for air.