Week Five: August 7 to August 13
This week I worked to make sure all of my runs could happen, despite the fact that I'm on vacation. My family left on Sunday for New York, where we caught a cruise ship to Bermuda for the week. Although some of the mileage was less than ideal (running on treadmills while the boat was rocking was difficult) I managed to get every day's effort in with moderate success. My fitness continues to improve, and I'll be glad to make it back home, where I'll leave immediately with my team for Hawk Harrier XC Camp. The mileage was nothing insane, but the work was solid, and I couldn't have asked for a nicer place to run when I did manage to get off the boat to do my runs.
Friday, August 7th: Had to run on my own today, so I started from my house and went on an out-and-back course across Philadelphia, which took me down towards the South Street Bridge and Franklin Field, home of the Penn Relays. Ran for 57 minutes at an average of 6:30/mile, which felt really smooth. The weather held up, despite some rain clouds early in the run, which was fantastic.
Saturday, August 8th: Another economy day today. Started out with 35 minutes at 7:00/mile pace, and then after a quick pause I launched into my fartlek work for the day. I did 2 sets of 8 x 100 meters on, 100 meters off, for a total of two miles of economy work and seven miles on the day.
Sunday, August 9th: Long run today. Started from my home early in the morning since we had to leave for vacation and would be driving/sailing for the majority of the day. Despite the early start time (or maybe because of it), today was one of the best runs of the summer so far. Went for 74 minutes total, averaging under 6:25/mile, and the last five miles were all under six minutes. The day in total was just under 11.5 miles, which was my longest run of the summer so far.
Monday, August 10th: After three consecutive strong efforts, it made sense to take this one a little easier. The ship was on the sea all day, so I had to use a treadmill onboard. My GPS couldn't give me an accurate read for mileage, since the ship itself is traveling very quickly, so I used my heart rate to control the pace. The run itself felt fine, if not a little boring, and I know how lucky I am that there is a treadmill to do the work on these sea days. Looking forward to making it to Bermuda, where I'll be able to run on land again.
Tuesday, August 11th: This run was the hardest of the week, not by actual difficulty but by the motivation required to run and do all of the work correctly. I did 59 minutes on the treadmill (we're still not to Bermuda yet) at about 6:28/mile, starting at 6:50/mile and getting down to 5:50/mile. I could've gone faster, but I didn't trust myself to avoid injury going that fast on a treadmill, so I just left the pace where it was. Glad to have this one over with, and to be moving on to other runs.
Wednesday, August 12th: Finally made it to Bermuda today. We had a massive trip planned for the day, so I needed to finish the work as early as possible. My mother and I were the first two people off the boat in the morning when we arrived, so that I could complete 35 minutes of easy jogging and 3 sets of 5 x 30 seconds on, 60 seconds off as quickly as possible. The weather was steamy even at 8:00 in the morning, so I can't imagine what it could have been like had I run in the afternoon. We went cave swimming, cliff jumping, and hiking today, so I packed in a lot of exercise after my run as well. Incredible experience, but I felt absolutely exhausted by the end of the day.
Thursday, August 13th: Easy day today. I was back on the ship, which meant back to the treadmill for another 35 minute run. I still have no idea how fast this one was, so I went off of heart rates and feel. After the run I did a full core routine in my stateroom, and stretched out my legs with a walk on the deck.
Weekly Total: 50.5 miles
