Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Training Weeks (03/31-04/12) and Forge Racing Faint of Heart 4 Miler

So things are finally returning to normal; however, I plan to keep my weekly mileage pretty low until May then I'll start hitting it hard before USMRT. Now, I'm just happy to be able to run consistently, here is my breakdown for the past two weeks with a quick review of the Faint of Heart.

Monday (03/31): 8 miles
Two mile warm-up with four mile progression (tempo) run, followed with a two mile cool-down. Struggled to hit lows 6s during the tempo. Really, felt like I lost some fitness.
Tuesday (04/01): 4 miles
Ran an easy four, followed with my barefoot drills and exercises then core workout at home.
Wednesday (04/02): 7 miles
Thought I would get some speed work in so I did a two mile warm-up then 4X800, (Average 2:39), these felt awful. Then two mile cool down. Goal was to shock my system, definitely achieved that but was a disappointment because it hurt so much and the times were so slow.
Thursday (04/03): 5 miles
Easy five, with barefoot drills, exercises, and strides with a core workout at home.
Friday (04/04): 4 miles
Only four miles and some strides. My body needed the rest.
Saturday (04/05): 12 miles
Twelve miles on the Beast in a moderate 1:52.

Weekly Total: 40 miles

Monday (04/07): 10 miles
Had speed work on the schedule but decided on a tempo instead. Ran the first mile slowly then felt good so I dropped the pace to 6:30 for the next seven miles. Two mile cool-down. Was really happy with this workout, I ran negative splits and ran very controlled. I felt like I could have run faster but figured slower was better with an upcoming race. Plus, I should be able to recover from a 6:30 pace quicker than running sub 6s. No knee pain or shin pain.
Tuesday (04/08): 4 miles
Just an easy four and some strides. No barefoot or core.
Wednesday (04/09): 10 miles
Ran two loops at Hooper with the Ales n Trails group. Noticed some shin pain, only when running slow though.
Thursday (04/10): 6 miles
Felt pretty good, so I picked the pace up a little but nothing too fast. No shin or knee pain either.
Friday (04/11): Day off, LSU Horticulture Club Crawfish Boil!!
Saturday (04/12): Short warm-up, four mile race, then three mile cool-down.

Weekly Total: 37 miles

Forge Racing Faint of Heart 4 Miler

I was really looking forward to this race because it is so close to my house. If you have never been to Clark's Creek, you really need to get out there. Not only are there gorgeous waterfalls but there is a tough primitive trail as well, boasting almost 4000 ft of elevation change in 4.5 miles! For the south that is crazy! I wasn't thrilled about the 7:30 am start but it turned out to be a good thing as we didn't have to share the trail with pedestrians or hikers. The weather was foggy and humid but wasn't really hot, basically perfect spring Louisiana weather. The start was fast as it was a long downhill on the gravel road to the trail, I used this opportunity to put space between everyone and myself because some sections of the trail I didn't want to deal with groups of people running really close. My race plan was pretty simple, just run away from everyone then try to out kick anybody left hanging on over the last long uphill finish. The latter I wouldn't have to worry about as I put plenty of distance between myself and second place. I was still running scared the whole time, as I swore I heard voices or splashing in the creek crossings because of this I continued to run hard trying to put hills between my opponents and myself. Unfortunately, about halfway through I felt like puking, which lingered for the remaining of the race. The trail was marked incredibly well for a Forge race and not once did I have to worry about getting lost. The only part I didn't enjoy was a stair set going up a waterfall, but other than that, it was great. Normally, the primitive trail dumps you out on the main gravel trail which we run back up to the parking lot; however, the race director chose to drop us back into the creek and run up the creek until we returned to the same spot where we initially entered. This was great because it was flat and skipped a few small but steep uphill sections that we normally have to run. The finish is about a half-mile long uphill that is very steep which destroys everyone, I was very thankful to have no one near me because I was on the verge of barfing. All in all, I was pleased with my time, even though I felt like I could have ran a minute or two faster if my stomach wasn't killing me. I think it was the combination of hard running and too much boiled crawfish the night before. As always Jeff and Brenton did an excellent job with this race, so far it has been my favorite one and was truly a trail race! Great job guys! I hope everyone enjoyed it and is inspired by the tough terrain to return!

Running through the creek to the finish. Photo: Cassie Cassidy



1 comment:

  1. My fav part is "the trail was marked incredibly well for a Forge Race..." ha ha. So true except me and X managed to get lost... ha ha. Love your stories Shane.

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