Weekly Training, September 7-13

Sunday - Day off; Rest and recovery.

Saturday - I backed off to 11.5 miles; my left heel still a little sore after this week's sprints, no need to push another distance record yet. I tried a little different variation and skipped the carb loading for the long run. I'd been loading up to provide extra energy for the increasingly longer runs, to prevent running out of gas before making the distance I wanted. However, I read about a training program that recommended skipping the carb load on some of the long runs. The theory is that by intentionally letting the glycogen reserves become depleted, it trains the body to switch over to drawing on stored fats for energy when needed. And then by loading carbs after the run, in a more depleted state, the muscles would adapt to store more glycogen than before. Just have to be prepared to "hit the wall" and push through it during the transition. Sure enough, heavy fatigue set in after about an hour and a half, and the rest of the way was a struggle, taking 7 more minutes than the same distance two weeks before. I don't think I'll continue to carb-deprive myself. Maybe something to try later, after I've worked up to marathon distance.

Friday - I planned to take a rest day Friday before my Saturday long run. However, after skipping Thursday, I ran another 5K Friday instead (feet still a little sore, resulting in a slow run - 30:41).

Thursday - Unplanned rest day due to early morning thuderstorm.

Wednesday - 8 x 400 meter sprints, resulting in sore feet. I'm going to back off of the fast runs; they give a harder pounding to the feet. The most important thing at this point is continuing the long runs.

Tuesday - Nice 5K, felt good, decent time, 27:47, 8.96 pace.

Monday, September 7, Labor Day - I felt good after resting Sunday, and tried a new trail, the Goose Creek Stream Greenbelt Hike and Bike Trail. It starts out by the Bayland Park marina near where Goose Creek meets Tabbs Bay, off of Galveston Bay. The trail follows Goose Creek upstream and links two other Baytown city parks, turning around, and returning along the same route. It's a 2.44 mile trail, out-and-back, for a 4.88 mile total. The trail also has a couple of nice uphill stretches that I don't get on my routine routes. I didn't feel like I was pushing the pace, but made it in 42:28.29; 8.7 minutes/mile, only 0.07 off my best 5K pace.
Here's a link to trail details.