Triathlon Training: Week 6 - Saturday Long Run

Today I was up at 4 am snacking on some mini pancakes(we were out of waffles) and a cup of coffee getting ready to endure my weekly long run. I was interested in how I would feel during this run after changing things up my workout plan. I ended up taking all of Friday off and making Friday my rest day. With Ava being up all night Thursday I knew pushing my body hard on Friday would not be wise. I pondered riding long Friday night, but I did not think that would be wise to ride late Friday and wake up early Saturday to run.

At 4:30 I met up with Byrne, Fountain, and Uhde to begin the first loop of running. Byrne and Fountain were scheduled for a six hour run. Amazing! I give them so much credit for the hard work and training they are putting into their Leadville training. It is some impressive work that they are doing. The first loop was a 2 hour loop. We headed out towards Hoover, past the Fitness center and kept on past the roundabout before finally reaching 60 minutes and turning around. I felt good on the way out. My legs felt fresh after being sore and tired the day before. The 60 minute run back I started to feel a little fatigue. There were more little hills than I remembered and they caught up to me.

We were able to knock out a little over 12 miles during the first two hour loop. We got back to the house to replenish fluids and calories. At this point Uhde headed out and Curt Johnson joined us on the run. Uhde had a great run. He was able to run a double digit run and do it well. He has not ran that long in a very long time so it was great to see him accomplish this. He is killing his training right now.

I needed to get home by 7:30 so the guys were nice enough to alter their 2 hour loop to a 1 hour loop so I had company during the run. These guys really embody the qualities of great training partners. I finished up the second 60 minute loop and was able to finish for a total of 17.36 miles over the course of 2 hours and 47 minutes which is a 9:38 pace.

In hindsight I am glad I had to make it home by 7:30. I know otherwise I would have pushed the second 2 hour loop and that probably would not have been wise with the total volume of training I have been doing the last few weeks. I had dead legs when I finished. I came home and made a massive breakfast before all the festivities of the day started. This is not a typical recovery meal, but I was starving like no other.

As I write this now my legs feel pretty good. When I finish these runs I always think I am in for a long day of fatigue and soreness, but after I recover and cool down I have bounced right back to normal.

My plan is to go ahead and do my 2 hour ride later tonight. I am interested in seeing how my legs respond to two big trainings in one day. This also allows me to have only swim class tomorrow and a semi rest day as I get ready for next week. Next week is going to be mass chaos with all the things we have going on so training is going to prove challenging.

A great run, a great morning with great weather, and another great opportunity of GETTING IT DONE! with some fantastic training partners. Have a great weekend.