This is my third week since the Chicago Marathon. And I think it’s safe to say … I’m back. My legs feel alive again, and I’m (more or less) back to normal.
Last week, I was getting there. The post-race stiffness was gone, and I was able to comfortably run up to an hour without issue. But my pace was still a little slower than usual, and longer efforts were leaving me a little more fatigued than usual.
This week, I started things off with a longer, 10 mile run. The rest of the week was 6+ miles per day, and Wednesday was my first foray into speeding up. I hit up the loop around the Reservoir for some strides, and I felt pretty good.
The weather has been weird. But in terms of running, it’s been a good week.
I also got some writing done. I published two posts this week:
- How Does the Gender Distribution of Finishers at the Chicago Marathon Vary by Country?
- Are You Ready for Cold Weather? A Winter Running Gear Checklist
The Plan for the Week
This week, the plan was to continue to slowly ramp up my weekly mileage and the duration of my daily runs. Last week, my longest run was 8 miles, and each day was 4-6 miles. This week, I’ll bump up to 10 miles, and each day will be 6-8 miles.
Here’s the breakdown for the week:
- Sunday: 10 miles easy
- Monday: 6 miles trail
- Tuesday: 6 miles trail
- Wednesday: 8 miles easy, 10 x strides
- Thursday: 6 miles trail
- Friday: 8 miles trail
- Saturday: 6 miles trail
That brings me up to 50 miles for the week – and next week I’ll be ready to get back to a normal-ish 60 miles per week.
Here’s how things went.
Sunday’s Long(ish) Run
I’ve been getting a bit antsy with these short runs, and Sunday I was ready to get out and go for a longer run. Ten miles is a good middle ground – longer than your typical run, but not really a “long” run.
I wasn’t too worried about pace, and I wanted to keep things reigned in. The focus was on finishing the distance and feeling fresh.
I didn’t have any plans for the day, so I slept in a little and hit the road about 9:30. The other nice thing about a 90 minutes long run is you can start late – and be back home while it’s still morning.
The weather was nice – a brisk day in the high 40’s with the sun shining in the sky. I passed by the county’s early voting site, and there was a line outside waiting for it to open at 10AM. I jogged past the loop at the Reservoir, and it was set up for a small 5k event. I saw some people jogging by with bibs warming up.
I kept going down to Millburn – up the hill at Valley View Drive and down the big hill on Cherry Lane. I got to the 5 mile turn around point, and everything felt good. No issues, no fatigue, no alarm bells at all.
I made my way back north – uphill and a little slower. But I kept jogging through the steep hills, and everything still felt fine. At the top of the hill at the end of Valley View Drive, I saw a guy running in the opposite direction. He asked if there was a trailhead nearby for the Lenape Trail, and he told him where to go.
Afterwards, it occurred to me that the Lenape Trail goes in two directions from there – up the hill and north towards Verona or down the hill and south towards Millburn. I hope I sent him in the right direction.
I continued on down the hill and past the Reservoir where the 5k was happening. I looped through the parking lot at the zoo to tack on a couple extra tenths of a mile. This also took me right past the early voting site, and the line was now doubled back on itself a few times. I heard later that people waited an hour to vote.
I resisted the urge to look at my watch throughout the entire run, wanting to go strictly by feel. It hadn’t felt fast, but it also hadn’t felt like I was plodding along at a recovery pace. It felt pretty comfortable.
My watch said 1:28, and when I looked at the laps they were in the mid-8’s for the downhill section and high-8’s for the uphill part.
Not bad. A little slow for ten miles, but I’m still coming out of that post-marathon fatigue state.
Monday: Back on the Trails
Monday morning, I hit the trails for 6 easy miles.
The leaves are really starting to pile up, now. My entrance to the trail is a very steep – but only for five or ten feet. The footing is a little uncertain, and it’s hard to tell where to step. So I take it extra slow on the way in and out, now.
Otherwise, the run was uneventful. Warmed up and settled into the pace. In the second half, I averaged under 9:30/mi. Felt good.
Total time: 58:05.
Tuesday: Another Easy Trail Morning
Tuesday, I had to go down to the office. So I was up early, around 6AM. Went about my morning routine and hit the trails a little after 7.
It was eerily dark. That’s when it occurred to me that Sunday is when we turn the clocks back for daylight savings time. Until then, the mornings are starting later, and later.
Otherwise, it was a good, uneventful run. After I got warmed up, my pace in the second half was ~9:00-9:15/mi. Faster than yesterday and feeling smoother.
Total time: 57:09.
Wednesday: A Little Speed at the Reservoir
Wednesday’s plan was to up the distance and add a little speed. I’d run down to the Reservoir, do four loops (8 miles), and finish up with a solid set of 10 x strides.
When I got down there, I was shocked at how low the water was. Sunday, I’d noticed the river was low. But in the Reservoir itself, the northern half is bone dry. It’s only a few feet deep when it’s full, but you can literally walk out there on dry dirt. We really need some rain.
I started the first loop, and I thought, “This is going to take a while.” But with each loop, time seemed to move a little faster. Before I knew it, I was on the fourth and final loop. And I could feel my pace quickening throughout.
I started in to the strides. Stride hard for 30 paces, jog to the next 1/10th mile marker to recover, rinse and repeat. The first one or two felt a little slow, but my stride opened up after that. It felt good to run fast.
By normal standards, the strides themselves were pretty slow. I never really got much faster than marathon pace. But my easy pace throughout the run had gotten down to normal levels – 8:30s progressing down towards 8:00s.
I finished up the full run in 1:07. And I felt good afterwards.
Thursday: A Warm, Easy Day on the Trails
I woke up a little stiff on Thursday. Could be the previous day was harder than I realized. But I’d also gone to a work event afterwards and spent 3-4 hours on my feet, and that always leaves me a little worn out.
The weather had turned and slowly started warming up all week. Thursday, it was in the 60’s when I went out for my run. What is this?
The piles of leaves are getting thicker by the day. I had the feeling today like I was running through water. With every step, I kicked up a pile of leaves. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
Although I started off a little slow, I loosened up and felt fine after the turnaround. I had forgotten that it was Halloween, and when I saw a woman walking her dog while wearing a mask, I did a double take.
Wrapped up in 57:46. After the first mile, every mile was under 9:30.
Friday: A Warmer, Longer Day on the Trails
It got into the 80’s on Thursday, and it didn’t cool down much over night. I woke up Friday, and it was already almost 70 degrees. Yikes!
I fished out a light, summer tank top, and I hit the trails. I’m not used to this heat anymore – and I was sweating early on. But otherwise, I felt fine.
Today was another eight mile run – stretching out the distance a little bit. So I followed the trail all the way to the end and looped back around. Coming back up hill, I noticed some slippage as I stepped on the leaves.
I could tell that I was going a little slower than usual. I’m not sure how much of that was fatigue from the increased mileage – and how much of that was just from the weather. But either way, I’m not worried about going slow for a day or two.
Finished up in 1:19 – so a slow day for sure. But felt good.
Saturday: Cooling Off Again
It got back into the 80’s yesterday, but it started to cool off again in the evening. I went to our local high school football game wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and by half time it was cool and windy.
Woke up this morning, and when I hit the trails the temperature was back in the low 50’s. That’s a little more like November.
Still not particularly fast. I warmed up and then settled into ~9:30/mi for the remainder. Finished in 59 minutes.
On the way out of the trail, I took it extra slow. The exit is around a tenth of a mile along a thin, single track trail. It’s in the middle of a hill – up to the right, down to the left.
Usually, it’s not too treacherous. But with the thick leaves, it felt different. My footing was a little unsure. So I took that little stretch extra slow until I got back on the road. Part of me wants to go back with a broom or a leaf blower and just clear it out.
But it’ll get knocked down over the next few weeks with a little use.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
It’s been a pretty good week.
Sunday’s 10 miler felt good, and I’m confident that I’m ready to start tackling more miles. I made it through the week with 50 miles. I think I’m ready for a real long run (16 miles) tomorrow and for a real week (60 miles).
Wednesday’s little foray into speed was also a confidence booster. That period after a marathon is always a little weird. You’re slow and beaten down, and you start to think it’s normal. Am I ever going to be fast again?
But within a few weeks, things start to get back to normal. This week was the week for me. By the end, I felt normal – albeit maybe the “normal” after a tough week. A little slower and less fresh at the end, but not struggling overall.
Next week will be my first “normal” week of training. 16 mile long run, 60 miles on the week. I’ll do a light speed workout Tuesday – probably 10×2 minutes at 5k-10k pace. And Friday, I’m running a small 5k while I’m away at a work conference. But I’m not really racing it – I’ll approach it more like a 3 mile tempo run. The goal is 20-21 minutes.
From there, the winter racing season starts. I’ve got a few things on the agenda, and I plan on writing up a plan to guide me through the next few weeks. But I’ll do that in a separate post later this week.