I actually thought I was doing an easy week. It sure started very easy with 5 and 4.5 miles on Monday/Tuesday. After that it got a bit more complicated because with work being very busy the easiest option by far was to run either in or out of work, and that's exactly what I did, which means about 10 miles a day. However, I felt pretty good, so I think my body is finally able to handle that kind of mileage again, building itself up while doing it rather than breaking down.
Saturday has become the day of a (modest) workout, and I have been alternating hills and faster stuff recently and saw no real reason to change things. Back to hill running it was, in my case a few repeats up and down Bray Head. It has become my "Windy Gap" replacement after my move from Kerry. It's not quite the same but not a bad option.
Last time round I was pretty shattered after 4 repeats and the quads were sore for at least 2 days, so I was rather pleased to be able to do 5 and go home with at least one more in me if I had to, and the quads were perfectly fine the next day. The one thing I remember most, however, was another hill runner doing almost the same route on one of my repeats. On the uphill we were doing a very similar pace but boy things changed on the downhill! He went down the hill so fast, and on the steep, stony part he just seemed to float over the trail while I awkwardly picked my steps. Great technique, awesome to watch!
Anyway, the fact that my quads were fine on Sunday meant this time I didn't have to bin the long run and I went along the coast to Dun Laoghaire. The 10 mile point was about a quarter along the pier, and there I turned around and ran the same way back home. I swear the damn wind must have turned right at the same time because I seemed to run into a headwind in both directions! The outward leg had passed so quickly I could barely believe I was already in Dun Laoghaire but the return journey was a bit more challenging. However I was still in reasonable shape when I got home, so all good.
I'm keeping a reasonably close eyes on my numbers and they have been steadily going upwards, which is great to see. Let's hope it will continue, and if it doesn't I will rethink my approach.
I did one other thing this week, namely a group ride with another dozen cyclists from work on Tuesday evening. We will be doing a charity ride in September, in Kerry, which I am really looking forward to, but I need a few hours in the saddle to get used to being on the bike for a few hours at a time. I won't have any issues with fitness - during the ride my average HR was 98, which is barely higher than most people have from standing still. I don't think I will get much training benefit from it, but it's definitely a good bit of fun.
Total mileage this week was just under 70 miles, which I expect will be fairly typical for the next few weeks.
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