Back-to-back build-up, a.k.a. “How to trash your legs in 2 easy steps”
Yesterday I did what has become my go-to 10ish miler from Ebin G. Fine Park to the Green Mt. summit. It has about 3400′ of climb, almost all in the first half, so this otherwise not-too-long run qualifies as a long run for time-on-feet purposes. I’ve run it as fast as about 2:15; yesterday, less than 24 hours after finishing the prior day’s 50k race, it took me 2:34. 20 minutes more over less than 10 miles shows just how much the fatigue was on my legs and brain.
But, this weekend was a success on all fronts. Two long efforts (6 hours Sat, 2.5 hours Sun) with right about 10,000′ of total climbing over about 41 miles. I followed up Run 2 with a gluttonous episode at Japango, where I set a new PR in the category of “Most Money Spent For A Single Sitting Of Sushi”.
I’m hoping to get at least 3-4 more long back-to-back days in August and September, plus the long day ahead for pacing up to 50 miles at Leadville. There’s no telling how my 100-miler will play out but I am pretty confident that I’m at least getting the training right.
With good friends from visiting from Austin, Cara, Louis, Jacques, and Emile, we have an active week on tap. We’re starting the day today with a boys’ Hogback hike, then I’m hoping to squeeze in a few miles of easy running sometime later before dinner.
Kind of Like Fun 