The past 4 weeks have been action packed. In the spirit of brevity, I’ll break them down by the numbers:
Not bad for a Thursday!
6: months since I broke my foot
3: months since I resumed running
1: completed loop of the infamous trail where I broke my foot
10: weeks until Rio Del Lago 100 Miler
2,958: number of miles Taylor and I flew (SF to Montreal) to run 15 miles in 90+ degree heat, 90%+ humidity
6: races completed between July and September
4: age group podium finishes between July and September
- Vineman 70.3
- Vineman Full AquaBike (3rd M30-34)
- Big Basin Trail Marathon (4th M20-29)
- Crystal Springs Trail Half Marathon (3rd M20-29)
- Salt Point 15k (1st M20-29)
- Mount Diablo Trail Half Marathon (1st M20-29)
3:28:59: my goal time for Berlin!
Worth the 4:40 alarm.
I couldn’t be happier with my recovery and progress to date. Over the past few weeks, I’ve finally started to feel like my running fitness is approaching 100%. Although my Berlin training has been a bit unorthodox, it’s kept me healthy, and I’m getting stronger week over week.
Most of my weeks have followed this format:
Monday: rest, or 20 minute easy swim
Tuesday: power cycling class on the trainer (90 minutes), optional afternoon run
Wednesday: swim (~2000m speed workout), 6 mile run
Thursday: power cycling class on the trainer (90 minutes), optional afternoon run
Friday: swim (2400m easy endurance), run 6-8 miles
Saturday: long bike (50-70 miles, 3-4 hours)
Sunday: long run (13-16 miles, 2-3 hours)
Consistent swims, a big spike in my cycling volume, and my reluctance to run too much too soon has led to a fairly balanced distribution of all three sports. When I do run, I prefer quality over quantity: the “short”(13.1 mile) trail races have been a great way to push hard without overdoing it. Trail runs have helped rebuild both muscular strength in my right leg and my confidence. I’m now back to running a 7:30 pace comfortably, and I think that a marathon PR in Berlin is still well within reach.
Don’t let the grey skies fool you – it was 95 degrees
Between now and our trip of a lifetime, I have a couple major happenings: the inaugural Ironman Santa Cruz 70.3 on 9/13, and my company’s annual conference from 9/15 (my birthday!) to 9/18. The goal for IMSC 70.3 is simple – swim within my means, bike easy, and build to marathon pace for the last 10k of the run; no goal time whatsoever. I’m treating it like a (very) long training day before a big 2 week taper for Berlin.
The elevation profile for the Mount Diablo 14 miler…looks like Mount Diablo
As for Berlin itself, I’m going to give it my best without being stupid – just like Vineman 70.3 in July. It may sound cliche, but my goal is to finish and have fun. It’s a unique opportunity to run one of the biggest road races in the world, and visiting Munich for Oktoberfest, Paris, and Iceland will be icing on the cake. Since the course is almost completely flat, I’ll be shooting for a near even split. If I manage to tick off 7:45-7:50 miles, I would be stoked.
Crystal Springs Trail Half Marathon
