End of Week Five (12/7/07)

Week Five was a good week of running. I had hoped to get outside for a weekend run, but the weather did not cooperate. I did my Sunday 5 miles at the Y. The week’s plan had four runs of 5 miles each, and I completed them all for a total of twenty miles for the week. My overall pace for the week (9:27) was a little faster than Week Four, but still slower than my norm from previous years..

If I were to look at my overall pace from previous years (but sadly, I can’t) I would find an average pace close to a minute per mile faster than my current 9:30 pace. Naturally, I am concerned that the years have just made me slower, but I think not. The regular increases in my mileage and the eye toward a larger goal has naturally made my running more conservative as I follow this plan. I understand why the pace is slower, but nevertheless, I’m getting anxious to test my conditioning with a fast run. But at this point, I am happy with a solid 20 mile week under my belt.

I have not mentioned it yet, but one of my goals for this plan, was to do a lot of cross training. I got off to a good start, but have been trailing off the past couple weeks. At the close of Week Five, I have been on my feet running fro about 12 hours. During the same time I have logged about 3 hours of cross training. It has been a combination of workouts with the heavy bag in the basement and stationary bike sessions at the Y. I also made it out for a 1,000 meter swim a few nights ago. When I get into less running days in future phases, I hope to get more regular with cross training.

I also inadvertently experimented with a different type of cross training in Week Five. I was planning on another evening run at the Y on Wednesday. The drive home from work that night was icy and snowy. When I got home, the urge to relax took over and I enjoyed my dinner with some wine. As the evening moved on a bit, I realized that it was still early and the relaxation from the wine was replaced with an urge to put in the miles and sleep in the next morning. So I went out for my run anyway. It was an uneventful 5 miles, but since this was a first for me, I did go a little slower than usual. Anyway, a good Elvis Costello playlist got me through the run.

I look forward to Week Six. The schedule calls for 22 miles; two5 milers and two 6 milers. I am pretty sure that I will add another week to the Base Phase so that I will end the phase with four 6 milers in Week Seven. Then I will begin the Endurance Phase with a 10 miler. But before I get ahead of myself, I need to focus on the coming week with these 6 milers.