At 4 weeks out I had just finished my longest week of miles ever: 75. This past week was the beginning of my taper - a 4 week taper that is likely not really a taper but rather some less weekly miles, combined with some focusing runs. This past week and next, the goal was and is to back off the overall mileage, yet to run with a more defined "race specific" purpose.
In reality - not run just to run and accumulate miles, but to get some quality runs in, in "tired mode" - as I will be on race day. So for the first 2 weeks of this last 4 week block I was hoping for 60 miles in week 1, 50 in week 2. Then for the last 2 weeks to really back off the miles to get the legs to feel fresher.
This past week didn't happen like I had planned, but it still was productive I think. Next week will hopefully be more productive - but that is for next week's post. Back to this past week.....
Monday: planned on doing a 26 miler, Double Falcon, counter clockwise - my troubling direction to run. Couldn't make it to start, instead I had to start earlier in the morning due to time and family constraints. Did a 15 mile moderate tempo run on Santa Fe Trail. Started at Northgate and went South 7 1/2 miles - almost to Woodmen Rd - at a comfortable 8:30 per mile pace. Mostly a slight downhill, some rollers along the way. Turned and came back at a more honest effort of 8:20 pace. Admittedly it was only 10 seconds per mile faster but the accumulating miles combined with the gradual upward direction made for a required increase in focus and effort. Was a good run.
Tuesday: 3 miles easy on open space trails behind my apartment. Then got some good swimming pool time in the morning with my kids. My legs liked that - a lot.
Wednesday: 16 miles. Double Herman. Was a warm morning even with an early start. Lap one was a solid effort of exactly 1:45 - in hindsight I worked a little too hard and as a result that showed on lap 2. Lap 2's climb back up the 1600'+ to the summit was a slow, hard, slog. The rest of the lap was just trying to hang on - ended up with a 1:52 second lap. Still a decent time but slower than I wanted to be. 3:37 overall for the 16 miles and 4700' of gain.
Thursday: tried to get back to the Falcon Trail for a lap - was denied entrance due to expired license tags. Oops. Surprisingly I made it from the North entrance to the AFA, down to the DMV and back in just over an hour. Didn't have enough time for a lap of Falcon, so opted for nearby Fox run park. I got 3 laps in there. Each lap just over 3 miles and 330' ish of gain. Lap 1 and 3 I did in 28 minutes, lap 2 in 27 1/2.
Friday: finally got on Falcon trail. Got there tired so my goal of a 2 hour lap seemed out of reach. Went counter clockwise and after the first 3 or 4 miles I began to get my legs back and felt stronger. Felt good for several miles. As the last couple of miles came around fatigue and some tough climbs caught me - but I still managed a 1:57 lap - that felt good afterwards.
Saturday: 4 mile recovery, easy run at the open space trails behind my apartment. Just to unwind and bring the week up to 60 miles.
So, a decent week, making good with what I had. I certainly had some experience in running on tired legs, especially Thursday and Friday's runs. Hopefully they will hit the right bank. Next week: a focused 50.
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