It's weird when the "Running Week" ends. I do this every Sunday after my run is finished. I think to myself, "ahh, this week is over." In reality, nothing is finished about it. The week might be over, but tomorrow I will be doing the exact same thing as I did today, running. It is a continuous act and it is only over when, well, you decide to never run again, or at least for a long period of time. But, the way my mind works, I will continue thinking the same thing after every Sunday run. This is due to the log I keep that ends the week on Sunday. (http://www.running2win.com/community/public-log.asp?m=Michaelxc2007&k=michaelxc)
Coming into this week, I knew it was going to be one of the toughest weeks of my life, if not THE toughest. Not only did I bump up to 100 miles with a 19 miler today, we did two really hard workouts that made me press very hard. With that and all the school work and actual work, I am sitting here thinking about how hard of a week it has been. But, something I have been doing lately is not thinking about what you just did or did in the past. I just need to look forward to the next day and the next run and not think about how tough the week before was. After thinking though, I feel really well right now.
On Friday, we did a 4x2k workout on the course. I experienced something with my body that I had never experienced before that day. My legs just did not want to run! This was probably due to the combination of little sleep the night before due to a Typography project and the inability for the trainers to have the ice bath ready when I need it! I went in there to get in and it was empty and I asked what the deal was and they simply said they didn't feel like filling it up because they had to go to the soccer game. I was furious, because I couldn't wait the 20 minutes it took to fill up because I had class! Anyways, back to the workout. I felt fine on the first two 2k's, but the third and fourth ones were bad. My legs were heavy and they were locking up when I put heavy force on them. A total bonk, if that is even possible in that type of run. I wasn't mad though. I just tried to relax and finish at a decent pace. With what I am doing, my legs are bound to be tired and it just happened during a workout. The next day I ran 15 miles, broken up into two runs, and my legs felt recovered and back to normal.
Today, Sunday, I finished up my highest mileage week with a 19 mile run at Hangover. I really cannot get over how nice these past Sunday runs have been. Not only have I been getting in the most quality running possible, it is awesome running with my teammates and hanging out at the Buckeye Dairy Bar afterwards. The only thing is though; some of the guys have pretty much gone against our team goal of running Hangover every Sunday. Some of us are mad, because they are guys that should be there, and even are leaders of the team. There is no excuse, especially since they all are in town anyways, running on their own, on the concrete roads of Portsmouth. The benefits of running Hangover are undeniable, and it is their loss. Besides that, my run today was fantastic. This was my longest run ever, 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 22 seconds. I ran 30 minutes before the guys got there and headed out with them. The weather was perfect, a cool 72, and I kept it at a moderate pace.
Next week will be an "easy" week. After tomorrow’s 3x2 mile workout, it is easy running until our meet on Friday. I am looking forward to racing again! Can't wait to see how everyone does. One other note, we got ranked 18th in the pre-season polls. Cedarville is 12th. So, who needs motivation?
I am Michael Owen, and I am Running Free!
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