Weekly Training Wrap - 12/19 – 12/25

If you have followed my training lately you know two things: 1) I am in between training cycles for the first time in a while and 2) the Denver metro area is getting TONS of snow. Thus it is hard to describe my training lately. It's been a bit of an ad-hoc situation. I am trying to mix in some gradually longer runs in an effort to keep my fitness and endurance. However, judging the effective pace of each run is difficult due to the poor road conditions outside. All in all, I'm happy with the past few weeks. Though I have discovered the joy of easier paces again!

This week I finally crossed the 2500 mile mark. It is a pretty arbitrary number in the grand scheme of things. But the implications of that number are huge. First of all, it shows that I have put in an incredible training year with a base large enough to make a number of different goals possible. It is easily double my previous "PR". And secondly, it is a sign that my body (combined with my training approach) can handle significant miles without undue risk of nagging injury. Along the way I have done back-to-back long runs, 40 to 80 mile weeks, and 4 to 8 workouts a week. And none of it has bothered me in any significant fashion. As I look ahead at the schedule for 2012, this peace of mind is invaluable.

The final week of 2011 will be another ad hoc plan, but I am going to get some trail work with a DailyMile group in Boulder. I am really looking forward to that. Hopefully I will put the final touches on some more plans for 2012 as well. The few things to do in that regard are to finish LT100 accommodations and to finalize other training events I want to enter. I think I have come up with a training plan for the Colorado Marathon suits me. The mileage is based around an ultra marathon as the event. There will be a huge emphasis on weekend long running. During the week I am going to mix in some training specific runs for a marathon (tempo work, interval work, etc...). I probably won't set a goal for Colorado until the event is closer, but certainly another shot at 3:15 (and a PR) is in the back of my mind.

Day	Miles	Notes
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	7	Easy pace
Wednesday	11	Progressive ending at GA pace
Thursday	6	GA pace
Friday	7	GA pace
Saturday	15	GA pace
Sunday	4	Easy pace
Total	50	About 3900 vertical feet gained