6/1/08 Training Update

This last week was another really good training week. It started with the 38 mile trail run I wrote about in my last post, and I managed to get in 100 miles over the course of week.


This week I also did my first nighttime trail run. I've been told that practicing running at night is hugely important, so it was definitely time for me to try this since I'm only 1.5 months out from the big race (it's on July 19th).


On Wednesday morning I woke up pretty early to catch a flight to Boston for work. I flew back that night and got home around 10pm. I was pretty exhausted, but I made myself lace up and head out the door. Before I left I grabbed a water bottle, my headlamp, and some clif shot blocks.


The plan was to run one of my favourite routes through DC that is about 14-15 miles long. Most of the route (probably 9 or 10 miles) is on the Glover-Archebald trail and trails in Rock Creek Park. Despite the fact that you're inside DC, these are really nice trails that actually feel pretty remote.


Well nighttime trail running was certainly a different beast. This was my first time using the headlamp, and it took some getting used to. I found depth perception to be pretty tricky. It was also a bit unsettling/spooky to be running in the middle of a forest at night. I started to get used to it though and was feeling pretty comfortable after the first few miles.


Overall the run went really well. I'll feel much more comfortable running with my headlamp in the future, and I actually managed a pretty quick pace for the run. I finished in a little under 2 hours, which is about how fast I run it on a good day (let alone at night).


This weekend I've been taking it easy and not running. For the last four weeks, my mileage has been 92, 100, 90, and 100 miles. This is definitely the breaking point for me. I was in bad need of a few days off. So I'll take this week easy and the hammer out some big training weeks for the next month. After that, it'll be time to taper and run the Vermont 100!


Well, that's it for now. Next weekend I'm hoping to run 40 to 45 miles on Saturday. I'll let you know how it goes!

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