FCHM Training: Week 5

This was a less than stellar week of training. But it’s not like I sat and did nothing all week. It was AirVenture week here in Oshkosh, so I spent lots of time out on the EAA grounds and I did LOTS of walking. Granted that meant by the time I headed home at night, my legs wanted absolutely nothing to do with anything other than sitting in my recliner. Oops.

So the plan called for:

Monday: 4-5 miles

Tuesday: 6 miles total, speed work consisting of 1.5 mile warm up, a “magic mile,” 3 easy miles and finish with 4x200

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: 4-5 miles

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 8-9 miles

Sunday: Rest

Here’s what I actually did:

Monday: I walked. A lot. In 100 degree heat.

Tuesday: Another long day at AirVenture and another day of a lot of walking. I made myself go to speed work at track, even though I knew it was going to hurt. I got to the track just as my group was leaving for the warm up and I probably took my warm up miles too fast. I finished my 1.5 miles in 15:31. After a bit of a stretching break it was time for the “magic mile.” The goal? Run a mile on the track as fast as you possibly could. Hmm. I told myself, it’s just a mile. So I went. The last lap was hard, but I finished in 9:26. I was hoping to get closer to 9 flat, but given the state of my legs, I was ok with that. Leaves me room to improve, right? Finished with a pretty slow 3 miles and then threw in the 4x200 strides at the end. Tough workout, especially on the trashed legs, but glad I made myself do it.

Wednesday: Rest day! But lots of walking at AirVenture.

Thursday: Nope. Legs wanted nothing to do with running after 5 straight days of tons of walking around looking at airplanes.

Friday: Rest day! I thought about sneaking in a few miles, but that thought only lasted a few minutes.

Saturday: 9 miles on the schedule. It was an out-and-back. The weather was glorious. We’re talking low 60s and no humidity when I started at 7 a.m. I ran the entire first half, making decent time for a long run. The second half of the run got a little more tough. My IT band was starting to get a tiny bit cranky, kind of expected given the amount of walking I did all week on the uneven ground. I took two very short walk breaks during the second half and then got stopped by a train a mile from the end. Ended up finishing the 9 miles in 1:42. I’ll take it. I followed up the run with a trip to my nephew’s baseball game and, oh, more walking at AirVenture. But this time it was purely for fun.

Sunday: Rest day.

So why all those extra rest days? I spent 5 days walking the AirVenture grounds for work. I’d guess I walked about 12-15 miles on the uneven grounds during the week. I’m not surprised though. Every year I struggle with training during AirVenture week. I just chalk it up and get back on track the next week. Which is exactly what I’m going to be doing this year.