5/16-5/22: 120 miles (13 runs)
5/23-5/29: 120 miles (12 runs)
5/30-6/05: 116 miles (14 runs)
6/06-6/12: 120 miles (12 runs)
6/13-6/19: 120 miles (13 runs)
6/20-6/26: 120 miles (13 runs)
6/27-7/03: 120 miles (13 runs)
7/04-7/10: 120 miles (13 runs)
7/11-7/17: 120 miles (14 runs)
1,186 miles, average 118.6 miles/week
I woke up before 6 am to my buzzing alarm, and groaned. I got up, and could barely stand up, my feet aching. In fact, my whole body ached. My feet were tired, my legs were tired, even my arms were tired. I got ready for another hilly 15 mile run out in Boyds, MD. Thankfully, after my training run, I would see Terrel for an hour massage. I immediately grabbed a Clifbar to get some food in me. I knew if I didn't, I would fall back asleep. My body had been doing 120 mile weeks consistently, and it was being pushed to the limit. It was sore all the time, tired all the time, fatigued all the time. There was no breathing room. Nearly every day of the week was a double run. Even running early in the morning, the humidity is still brutal in MD/DC. I have been averaging 17-18 miles a day, with 12 being the shortest amount I'll do in any day. Every day is hard work. This is the endurance segment period of training. It is brutal. My coach says it is probably the toughest type of training distance runners do. But not many can do it at this level of mileage-most break down or get injured. Somehow, my body can handle it. But it's not like I'm doing track workouts. Most of the training is distance runs, fartlek runs, hill repeats, quick 12 milers, and progressive 20 milers. But it's the day to day(almost tedious) exhaustion of doing it. In terms of paces, I've done progression type 20 mile long runs where Conrad and I start around 7:00 pace and work gradually down to 5:30 pace, and most fartleks at 5:00-5:10 pace. I've done some hilly 12 milers at 5:40 pace. Many distance runs average 6:30 pace. Some recovery runs are like 8:00 min pace. I averaged nearly 120 miles/week for 10 weeks, the most I have been ever able to handle. Somehow, I got through this training. I owe it to my coach Roland Rust, my massage therapist Terrel Hale, Saucony for making the best training shoes to keep me healthy, and my training partner Conrad. Conrad has also been hitting high mileage, hovering around 100 miles. It's been great to meet with him on a regular basis. Knowing you have to meet someone for a workout at 6:30 am gets you out the door in the morning. I haven't raced in 3 months. It seems like ages ago. But not racing this summer is what I feel I needed. To just train. and put in the work, and forget about times/places for a while. To go back to building a stronger base. The endurance period ended Sunday(7/17), and after last week, we are moving into a new phase of a bit lesser mileage and adding some more quality now. I'll start to do some tempos on the track and getting a bit faster again. On Monday, I came down with a minor cold(go figure my body was probably broken down a bit), and took a much needed rest day. My brother also got married this past weekend too, and I somehow made a good speech during the ceremony without passing out from exhaustion. 120 miles/week + social events + working + coaching and other stuff can definitely be a lot to fit on the plate at times. I felt better after practically doing nothing but sleeping/lying in bed all day Monday. It was my first day off running since May 6. My body needed the rest. Rest is just equally as important-it is important to do it at the right time. The rest will enable me to be ready for the next phase of training.
