Progress Intelligently Planned (Or Not)

I think it's safe to say I'm officially back on a training plan now. The body seems to have cooperated so far this week so I'll continue on as planned. Since I'm targeting the Aug. 3 Skyline 50k now, I'm basically at less than 9 weeks to go.

For the Ohlone race, I used a modified 16-week "rookie" version of a marathon training plan (from RW)- meaning it was designed for runners that ran consistently but rarely took their distances past 6 miles. Seemed to work well considering I was able to finish the marathon distance plus a bonus five miles on a ridiculously hilly course.

So for this next 50k race, I've decided to use the final 9 weeks of the "veteran" plan (man, I'm getting cocky). Last time, I did borrow the same quality and tempo runs from the plan, but held back on the long runs (to avoid overuse injury to my calf). We'll see how it goes this Saturday when I go out for my first scheduled long run - a 16-miler (I will definitely pull back the reins on the distance if my body starts to complain).

Sunday will be an easy 5-miler or I'll hit the gym for Crossfit if my legs says "screw you" to running.

Couple of last items...

• Be sure to check out Runner's World online. Our good friend, Glorybelle Lillie is the Reader of the Week! Well deserved.

• My middle toe nail on my right foot is now officially gone. Time to move on.
  

The latest training...

Today (6/6) - Rest

Thur. (6/5) - Tempo run - 7.5 miles - (included 1 mile warmup and 1 mile cooldown) - I'd actually label this as more of an in-between run (faster than EZ but slower than normal tempo pace) - I needed to tread carefully here out of fear of moving too quickly to the fast stuff. Whatever the label, it was rough. I think after this upcoming weekend, I should be able to be more aggressive next week. Body kicked my butt on this one.

Wed. (6/4) - Ran 6 miles with the dog (Miles) along the levee. If it weren't for the 30 MPH winds that somehow managed to be head-on for 70% of the run (weird on an out-and-back), I would have really loved this run. Felt good to get some more mileage on the legs. Felt a little sore in on the outside of my left knee on the last 200 yards of the run. This was the same place I was feeling pain on the last descent at the Ohlone race. My 3-mile split was 23 minutes and I think I was headed for a similar second-half split until Miles hit the wall. I forgot he hadn't been out for a few weeks while I recovered. He slept for 20 straight hours, passing silent, disgusting doggy gas bombs.