Burn Out

I have had several great running weeks. I am averaging 37 miles per week. I think that is the most I have ever done consistently. I have certainly accumulated some high mileage weeks while training for the marathons, but I haven't carried the miles for this long. I have tried very hard to have one good long run, one semi-long run and one quality speed work each week. The rest of the miles are fillers. I am also trying to slow down for most of my runs. The heart rate monitor really helps to keep me honest. I think it may be the only way to do this kind of mileage and not fatigue. Those easy days really do have to be easy. The high miles are necessary for competition. My longest run is 15 miles. Every plan I find, every book I read recommends 30+ miles for half-marathon competitors. In other words, you have to get to the point that 10 miles is nothing but time, so the question is how fast can you run them.

This week, I did an easy 6 miles on Monday, an easy 10 miles yesterday, and a hard speed work out today. I did 1/2 mile intervals at a 7:13 pace with a 1/4 mile recovery in between. I did 7 intervals and a total of 6 miles. I hate the idea of speed work, but I always enjoy it when I get into it. I thought maybe I wasn't getting the most out of these sessions or maybe I wasn't doing the right type of speed work for the distance I run, so I researched and confirmed that I may need to do longer intervals. Today, I worked hard! 1/2 miles intervals are quite demanding. In the past I did 1/4 mile. Anyway, it felt good that I was able to do 7 of them at the speed I needed to. Of course, to place in the OBX race, I need to run 13.1 miles at a 7:15 pace! God help me. I ran 7:28 miles in Prague, so taking 13 seconds off will be really hard. And I think they BAN MUSIC!

No one should be expected to run that long, that hard without a bit of head-banging-totally-inappropriate-for-children music?

So anyway, I am starting to feel a bit of burn out. I am taking the next 2 days completely off. I have a 15 miler on Saturday. That ends my running week. Sunday is filled with soccer and my parents are coming down for Pete's promotion on Monday. The next weekend we are in DC! Woo Hoo! It is a great week for a step down. I will gear back up when I come back from the Army 10 Miler.

Christy, you should be starting your taper. Only run a few miles this week. Next week, you should rest, eat, and hydrate. Don't worry about miles during race week. Rest is far more important. How's your toe?

I can't wait to see you guys!