Week 47: Encouraging running week

Mon 4/15 1 ½ miles. Yeah, like that.

Tue 4/16  4 ½ miles, including 8 x 120 yards striders. After all this slow running, except for the mid-week longer run, I decided to add some easy striders on grass with shoes. Felt slow at the start, then the last several were much easier. That’s the point, isn’t it.

Wed 4/17 4 miles, including 10 x 30 sec hard/30 sec easy. Same reason as yesterday, it felt good to run hard a bit.

Thu 4/18  10 miles at Croft. This turned into one of those progression runs where I start out slow and speed up through the run. Felt great again to run “fast.” This was the first really hot day of the season. I think things have just started drying up. I carried water, and creek-to-creek intervals, maybe a couple of miles or sometimes more at a time, each one a little faster than the previous one, made for good running and water for Bristol. 

from Southside Park: Southside Loop all the way around counterclockwise.

Fri 4/19  3 miles.

Sat 4/20 4 ½ miles on Cottonwood, plus 6 x 120 yards striders. I had a long day of work-related events, and finally got out in the later afternoon. Kept the striders easy, and shut it down when I felt a little twinge in my back.

Sun 4/21  14 miles at Croft with Seth and Ben. At the risk of jinxing it, I felt so easy and light from the get-go for the first time in a while. We ran one of the hilliest trails at Croft, and I never felt pressed on any of them. The last three miles or so we got after it a little.

from Dairy Ridge: New Edition to Jerry Perry to the lake trail to Lake Johnson Connector to Palmetto

Total:  41 ½ in seven runs

A very encouraging week. Three weeks out from the race, this one was important. I thought I might do a real back-to-back workout but Saturday’s work commitments pushed it too late. I plan to run 10 or so on Monday 4/22, part being our local Run for Boston.