Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Less than 5 weeks to the USA XC Championships

Last week I transitioned from longer Fartleks to mile repeats in an effort to sharpen up a little for the February 7th USA XC Champs. Considering the terrain, number of intervals, and short rest, I was happy with the results. It's always difficult to measure fitness after a month of effort based workouts, but this last week has shown me that I'm pretty fit already, and it's only January. I expect a loaded field in Boulder next month, so the timing should work out very well. The mile repeats were originally planned for Tuesday, but I had some bad luck with a flat tire on the way to the park, so it had to be pushed back by a day. I will get back on the original schedule this week or next, but in the end, a day here or there is not a huge deal.

I was feeling a little run down toward the end of the week last week, and I believe it was the start of a bout of the flu for me, which I am still dealing with today. Fortunately I have only had to take one day off, although I've had to back off the intensity quite a bit for the time being, which isn't always a bad thing. I can feel that I'm nearing the end of it and look forward to more intensity in the coming few days.

My ticket is booked for Albuquerque for the 24th of January. I'm excited to head down with the Brooks Beasts and get acclimated before heading to Boulder with the group. My coach, Dave Smith, will also be in Boulder, so it will be one of the few opporutnities throughout the year to see him in person as well.

I'm going to keep this post short and to the point today as I need to head out for a track workout before the sun goes down. Thanks again for reading, and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 7 AM PM Strength/Drills Mileage
Monday 11.5 5.5 40 minutes 17





Tuesday off 9+drills and strides
9





Wednesday 5 8 x mile on grass/dirt loop w/2 min rest starting @ 4:52 and working down to 4:28
18





Thursday 11.5 Off 40 minutes 11.5





Friday 11.5 30 minutes + drills and strides
16





Saturday 5 4 miles @ 4:45 + 2 x mile @ 4:32-4:36, rest = 3 min, 90 seconds
15.5





Sunday 18

18


Off

TOTAL


105

2 comments:

  1. Ryan I have two questions if you don't mind.
    I notice you train over 100 miles a week pretty constantly. If you were to train say 80 miles one week, would your legs feel the difference rest wise?
    2nd question, would you be willing to blog a weeks worth of nutrition. I'm curious as to how an elite runner eats during training. I know it's asking a lot, so I understand it it's not possible. Thank you

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    Replies
    1. Sorry for the delay Ramon. I did enter a typical day in terms of diet into the latest post. As for volume, I understand what you are asking. But with that logic, if I'm running 80 miles, wouldn't I feel better if I ran 60? or 40? I drop my miles heading into every important race, so I am trying to build up aerobic capacity and strength through high volume training. The workouts will not be quite as fast, but the high volume is a part of the overall training. If the goal was to feel fresh in every workout, you run the risk of racing workouts and not feeling rested for race day. Does that make sense?

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