Sunday, March 25, 2012

Week Recap (11 March 2012 - 17 March 2012) - 73 Miles

Sunday: 12M
Nob hill to GG Park. Back to longer runs after a recovery week. My legs definitely appreciated the lighter load.

Monday: 10M
Headed out from the Bay Club around 6pm and thanks to daylight savings time I was still able to get a run with daylight still out. I took advantage of it and ran the usual day route to Presidio, down park trail to Crissy Fields and back up Colombus Ave.

Tuesday: 9M
2x(8x400).
66, 72, 68, 71, 71, 71, 71, 71.
69, 69, 70, 70, 69, 70, 70, 68.
Rest was 45'' between the 400s and 4:00 between the sets. I started my workout around 6:30pm and the track at Kezar was still pretty crowded. I got out fast in the first one to go around a big group and got too excited, coming through the first 200 in 30-31. I eased up to finish the first interval and still hit a 66. I overcompensated on the 2nd one and only ran a 72 then overcompensated again in the other direction for the 3rd one. I finally got into a consistent pace after than and hit 71s for the remaining intervals of the set. The goal was to run 70s but since it was rainy and windy I was content with running a second slow. After 4:00 of rest I was feeling almost completely recovered and managed to run the second set better than the first. With the track clearing up I didn't have to run through the crowds any more and I was able to get into a nice rhythm. On most intervals I would come through the 200 in 34 and focus on maintaining a good turnover to the finish. Pretty happy with how the workout turned out, especially considering the conditions. Not too long ago I would almost need to go all out to run a sub 70 quarter so it's definitely encouraging to be running 16 of those with short rest. Definitely excited with how my fitness is progressing.

Wednesday: 8M
Out from the Bay club to the Embarcadero, continued along the water to the Marina and back through some random streets. Rather uneventful run.

Thursday: 9M
4x2K
6:10, 6:36, 6:32, 6:30.
Headed out from the Bay Club around 5:30 and ran a 2M warmup to AT&T park. I wanted to find a bathroom before starting my workout but I couldn't find anything nearby so I just stretched out, ran some strides and started the workout. I measured a distance of 2K from AT&T Park north along the Embarcadero and went back and forth for 4 intervals. I started the workout well, although I could sense my stomach getting uneasy early on. The goal was to run 6:20s and I was a bit surprised to see a 3:04 at the 1K mark. I didn't want to slow too much for the rest of the interval and managed to hit a rather comfortable 6:10. I ran straight into the ferry building after the first one and tried to find a bathroom for a quick pit stop. Managed to find one and came out to start the 2nd interval about 5:00 after I had finished the first one. I started the 2nd interval well, coming through the 1K mark in 3:07 then things started going bad. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my stomach and I inevitably slowed down for the last half of the interval.  I thought about stopping the workout right there and spent a few minutes walking around, hoping the pain would go away. I did feel a bit better and decided to continue the workout but I was nowhere near the pace I had originally started the workout at. My legs were feeling ok but it felt like I was running with a full stomach and had trouble moving fast. I was pretty disappointed at the end of it but in retrospect it's not a horrible workout. I did put in a fairly hard effort, which in reality was the goal of the workout. I guess I'm more disappointed thinking that I could have ran a very good workout, considering how well I felt after the first interval. These things happen every now and then, though.

Friday: 10M
Out from the Bay club to Golden Gate Park, ran a small loop in the park and headed back. It was pouring rain at times, which I started enjoying once I was completely soaked. Felt pretty good and kept the pace fast the whole time. I forgot that the Bay Club closes at 8:30 on Fridays (as opposed to 9:30 the rest of the week) and I casually walked in around 8:40. Fortunately there was still someone at the front desk and they were kind enough to let me jump in for a quick shower. While I was still out I was contemplating adding another mile or two so it turned out to be a good thing that I didn't. Not sure what I would have done if I was locked out with nothing but a soaked pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

Saturday: 14M
Started from my new temporary apartment in Nob Hill and picked up my usual route towards the Presidio. Continued west on the Bay trail instead of going down towards Crissy fields and eventually picked up Lands End trail and continued on to Golden Gate park. Ran up the north side of the park to Presidio Blvd, headed north from there and started making my way to Nob Hill after Geary Blvd. Felt a bit tired today and I was running slow, especially on the hills.