Epic Spending, Epic Consumption

This isn’t a political treatise on strip malls. What my title refers to is my increasing depletion of energy and my subsequent voracious appetite. There could well be a connection to strip malls, but I won’t get into that here. No other time was I aware of my growing hunger more than this weekend, when I pushed into long uncharted territory in terms of distance. An amazing weekend in general, but the runs were particularly delicious.

Started out with a (very) long run on Saturday. 6 from the PhillyRunners group including John, Steve (different from last weekend), Dierdre, Megan, and Rebecca set out in the opposite direction of the rest of the group. Special thanks to Dierdre for preaching the evils of MLK Jr. (the Drive, not the person), resulting in a much more scenic randonneé than expected. I couldn’t retrace our steps for the life of me, as most of the time I was engaged in conversation or watching out for tree roots on the fire trails in Fairmount Park. I’d planned to do 16, with some tempo intervals (half marathon pace?) thrown in. This is an object of concern for me, as I’m not sure how to gauge my current fitness level. Alas, there are still three remaining weeks before CR to figure this out. I know one thing for certain, and that’s that I’ve made leaps and bounds since the Philly Half, which I ran in 1:34:23 (7:13 pace), with considerable effort. Now I feel like I could do that run casually twice a week. I’ll quantify just how many leaps and bounds that progress entails on coming runs. Apologies to Rebecca, whom we seemed to have lost during the final miles. My conscience remains untainted however as I knew she had a cell phone with her.

Highlights of the run included a high dirt to pavement ratio, the Manayunk Tow Path, a steady push up the Belmont hills with John and Steve leading, and a dip through the fire trails (?) of West Fairmount Park. Not to mention some great conversation. In general, this was faster paced, hillier, and included more varied terrain than LSD in past weeks, a qualified substitute for my original plan of tempo intervals. I felt so good during the run that I stretched out the final miles. John, Dierdre, and Megan ended at the PMA; Steve and I trod onwards to Locust St and back to the PMA, wrapping up 19 miles in 2:29:08. 19.5 including a ½-mile warmup. Average HR 160, max 187 (probably Belmont).

I knew I’d be on the road to NYC early yesterday AM, so I’d planned to get out early for some recovery miles. Since I extended Saturday’s run I expected to put in anywhere between 3 and 6 miles, bringing me to my weekly goal of 50 miles. Tired and with a slight hangover, I set out for a Penn’s Landing out-and-back. I again ran further than expected – maybe it’s because I’ve been smashing goals left and right, or maybe it’s because I recently started music again on my runs (thanks to a bite-sized mp3 player from MM on V-day), but it’s likely a combination of all this and the fact that I found myself on the run less than 24 hours after a near-20 miler, still feeling strong (in a relative sense of course). This leads to smiles and super-boosts in confidence. But I didn’t get too confident, curbing yesterday’s run at 8 miles in 1:06:29. Average HR 148, max 160. In terms of pain, I’ll admit my left knee was tender but manageable, but I’m surprised at the overall lack of muscle soreness. Mostly stiffness in the joints.

What’s more is between these efforts I found myself in the presence of amazing food. I’m not one to gorge myself (most of the time) - lately it’s more of a single, day-long meal. This was the case Saturday as well as Sunday. Sunday was a trip to NYC, and time on my feet traipsing around museums was excellent for dispelling post-run stiffness.

No running today, save the short sprint to the train station. I’m likely one of very few who run for the train even when I'm on time.

Monday Recap

2/11 – 0 mi, AM yoga
2/12 – 4 mi treadmill / 30 min, 32 min indoor cycle, stretch/core
2/13 – 11.25 mi / 1:16:18
2/14 – 9 mi track / 1:05:38, stretch/core, PM yoga
2/15 – 4 mi treadmill / 33:40, 10 min row, 23 min indoor cycle, stretch/core
2/16 – 19.5 mi / 2:33
2/17 – 8 mi / 1:06:29

Weekly total was 55 ¾ mi in 7:05:05, average pace of 7:37/mile. Significant jump from last week, but I feel good, so I’ll go with it. I’m looking forward to additional speed work this week with perhaps a 50 mile cap.