I ran just over 60 miles last week. I tried to find my running logs from high school but could not locate them. I'm pretty sure I never hit more than 55 miles in a given week in high school. I may have topped 60 in a week or two in buidling mileage for college cross country season, but I'm not sure. My college coach put us through some intense workouts and conditioning programs but didn't really believe in high mileage. Either way, this past week was by far my highest mileage total since I "un-retired."
I ran my Freedom Park/Little Sugar Creek greenway route on Tuesday and felt great; it was tough to make myself slow down. Including my warmup and cooldown miles I logged just under 10 for Wednesday, which is the day I always do my workouts. I ran very well in a 2x3-mile workout in pouring rain and felt fresh enough to try a third set; I didn't do so only because of time constraints. Thursday morning I once again attempted to run a slow 8 miles and instead ended up running 7:13 pace. Anything under 7:30 is starting to get more and more comfortable.
Friday, I ran a hilly route all over uptown Charlotte for a total of about 7, and then did an easy 5 on Saturday morning. Several days of hard running, minimal sleep, weaker dieting than usual, and a few other factors finally caught up to me and I felt pretty drained before setting out do my twenty-mile run on Sunday. I labored through it and completed the mileage at 7:45 pace, including some sub-7:20 miles, but it didn't feel as good as my 18-miler had the week before.
In the afternoon and days following that long run, I took care to stretch the ankles and achilles tendons a good bit. Otherwise, though, I'm pleased to report that there are no major aches or pains here - just a weary runner who is due for a cutback week.
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