Mission Accomplished – 61 Miles for the Week

It’s Sunday night and I am reflecting on a very strong week of training.

Since my last post on Wed, I rounded out the week with 9 solid miles (7:50’ish pace) on Thursday, a 4-mile recovery on Friday and steady 21-miler (7:54 avg) on Saturday.

Yesterday’s 21-miler was solid… not too fast, not too slow. Steady 8’s through 16 miles with the CARA 8-min pace group – then added 5 on my own at around 7:40 pace avg. This was exactly as planned. I wanted to be safe this week, with such a big mileage jump.

I re-read McMillan’s article on carb deprivation for long slow distance runs. I tested his theory yesterday by taking in far fewer carbs before/during my run than I normally do. It worked well, I think… I am interested in your opinions. Does it sound crazy to “starve” yourself of carbs on these long, slow runs to stimulate and expand your energy stores?

My focus is volume, not speed right now. This week, I will come close to another sixty-one miles, if all goes well.

I definitely want to get in a solid tempo run this week.. My dilemma is that, while I am not a fan of the evening runs, the CARA group Tuesday eve speed work is helpful. Basically I am picking and choosing which speed workouts the CARA team offers that fit with my training plan. Focus: Lactate Threshold and 60+ mile weeks.

On the diet and weight management front, I weighed in at fit 170 this morning. I have shed a few pounds over the past week and a half.

Here is the draft plan for the week, which is always subject to adaptation. This would repeat this week’s mileage of 61.

Mon – 9 general aerobic
Tue – AM: 5 recovery. PM: 6 with 4 at LT. 11 total for day.
Wed – 4 recovery
Thu – 12 gen aerobic
Fri – 5 recovery
Sat – 20 miles
Sun – Rest