I just hit the halfway point! Overall I’m feeling VERY good. The hard stuff is hard, but it’s not knocking me out. I’m eating well and being much more deliberate about getting enough sleep (I actually write down how many hours I slept in my training notebook, which helps keep me honest). I’m trying very hard to be good about time management and healthy eating. Also, it’s super fun running in the woods every weekend.
Week 9 (1/15/18-1/21/18): Speed. 28.6 miles + 17 biking. Speedwork on trails is intense but kinda fun. This was also my first time throwing in some just-for-kicks hill repeats (like steep, power-hiking-style hill repeats) during my long run.
Week 10 (1/22/18-1/28/18): Speed. 36 miles + 15 biking. I got out to trails in New Jersey both Saturday (South Mountain) and Sunday (Palisades).
Week 11 (1/29/18-2/4/18): Speed. 35.7 miles, no biking. Midweek runs were lighter but weekend runs were longer at 12 speedy miles (Palisades) and 8 icy miles (Bear Mountain).
Week 12 (2/5/18-2/11/18): Recovery. 20.4 miles, no biking. This didn’t feel quite as “resty” as the recovery weeks in the first two cycles. I guess it was about 5 miles more than them, plus I threw some bouldering in, plus I had one very late night working at the Empire State Building Run-Up.
Total: 120.7 miles + 32 biking.
Feeling: Some awkward combination of hopeful (I can do this?) and realistic (there’s still a lot of hard work ahead of me).