I did a strange VO2 workout on Thursday: I went to Jefferson Memorial Forest, and ran on the trails. I did 6 miles, including 5 x 3 minutes of fast intervals, most of them uphill. I was exhausted, and I had a terrible bout of DOMS that hurt even today. I had a miserable long run (13.2 miles at 8 min/mile), because my legs were still trashed from Thursdays run.

On Thursday it also became clear to me that I never want to do a trail race. When I tried to go fast on those twisting trails, many times I almost killed myself running off a cliff or similar. I think trail racing is too dangerous.

I finished the week with 46 miles.

Plan for week of 1/30 (week -12). Total of 49 miles, including:

Long runs: 13 and 9 miles.
LT workout: 2 x 2.5-mile LT intervals. Total of about 8.5 miles.
Strides: 8 x 100 meters.
Easy: 3 x 6.17 miles.

Mon: 6 miles easy, 50 F, cloudy, NB. I did it at 7:49/mile, and it felt super easy.

Week -14 successfully completed with 43 miles.

Week -13: total of 46 miles.

Long runs: 13 and 9 miles at 8:00.

VO2 max: 5 x 3:00 on grass, golf course or trails. (Is a track really so bad?) Approx. 6 miles. Recover for 50% to 90% of the duration of an interval.

3 easy runs of 6 miles each.

I kicked ass today on my LT run. 2 x 2 fast miles at 6:27, 6:45, 6:36, 6:37. I ran the first mile by effort, trying to run 6:45, and when I saw 6:27, I was like "Whoa...". I never changed from the 2-2 breathing pattern, and it wasn't that hard. I'm back in game, baby. 1:30, here I come!

Wed: 35 F, cloudy, Saucony.

Tue: 50 F, cloudy, wind, NB.

Time to structure the plan. Let's peak at 61 miles: that way I will have one week cutback and then just a very slight increase from the week before.

01/16: Week 14, 43 miles.
01/23: Week 13, 46 miles.
01/30: Week 12, 49 miles.
02/06: Week 11, 49 miles.
02/13: Week 10, 52 miles.
02/20: Week 9, 56 miles.
02/27: Week 8, 52 miles.
03/05: Week 7, 57 miles.
03/12: Week 6, 61 miles.
03/19: Week 5, 59 miles.
03/26: Week 4, 52 miles.
04/02: Week 3, 54 miles.
04/09: Week 2, 50 miles.
04/16: Week 1, 46 miles.
04/23: Race week, 37 miles.

Week of 1/16: total of 43 miles including 12 and 9 mile long runs (two!), 8 miles tempo day (1.5 to 2 miles of warmup, 2 x 2 miles at ~6:45, 2-3 minutes jogging to recover between the intervals, and then cooldown). Easy days: 3 x 4.67 miles at around 8:00 min/mile.

Th, 32 F, snow, NB.

Today's tempo averaged 6:48 min/mile for 4 miles. Worse than last week but I'll take it. This course was a bit harder than the one I ran last week.

Tues, 55 F sunny, NB.

Log: Mon, 53 F, sunny, NB.

After the 45 miles this week I'm healthy and feel fine, so let's plan 46 next week. We'll see how to go on after that. It's a good idea to cut back somewhat for the first week of intensive traning, but I just haven't decided exactly how much. 40 miles sounds fine and it also gives a nice simple conversion factor to the Pfitz plan.

Week of 1/9: total of 46 miles, including
13 miles of long run, 7 miles of tempo, 4 times 6.5 miles of easy runs.

Easy runs at 7:45-8:15, long run should be 7:45-8:00, and tempo pace is 6:45-6:50.

Today, in beautiful weather, I ran a 6:45 paced 4-mile tempo. Awesome. I did have to switch to 2-1 breathing pattern at around 1.25 miles into the fast part, which is somewhat scary, because I'm not sure how long I can breathe that fast, but maybe OK. In fact I should be happy that I can sustain high oxygen intake for longer and longer. Maybe those years of smoking are to blame for destroying enough of my lung tissue?

I successfully completed the 44 miles planned for this week, which included a 12 mile run on January 1st. No problem. Why slow down now? Let's do 45 next week.

Plan for week of January 2.

45 miles, including a 7 mile tempo, a 13 mile long run, and 4 times 6.25 miles easy runs. Easy runs and long run at around 8:00, fast portion of the tempo is at 6:50.

I plan 46 miles for last pre-plan week of 1/9, then cut back some for the first week of the plan. How much exactly will be determined then. That will be an important decision, because it will also determine the peak mileage for the plan. Originally I thought I would cut back to 40, because there will be a step up in the intensity. That still sounds like a fine idea.