At this point, I’m still easing back into training. My first couple of recovery weeks after Jersey City are done, and it’s time to start feeling things out with some easy workouts.
Last week was a good first step. My volume was lower than usual, and my paces a bit easy. This week, I plan to ratchet things up.
Bump up the mileage, inch up the intensity. But still run mainly by feel. I’m not going to program any paces or really push anything beyond what my body feels like doing on a given day.
I’m sure I’ll still be slower than usual. But each workout knocks off a bit more rust, and I’ll be back to 100% soon enough. Let’s see how things go.
Plan for the Week
The plan for the week included slightly higher mileage (60), a true long run, and two light workouts. A step closer to normal – but leaning towards easier paces.
Here’s how things broke down:
- Sunday: 14 mile long run
- Monday: 6 miles trail, easy
- Tuesday: 6 miles trail easy, 4 mile treadmill double
- Wednesday: 8 miles, light speed workout
- Thursday: 6 miles trail, easy
- Friday: 9 miles, treadmill T workout
- Saturday: 7 miles trail, easy
And here’s how things went.
Sunday: Humbled by Humidity
Yesterday was warm, but it stormed in the evening. So I expected to wake up and have some better conditions.
Instead, when I looked at my watch I saw it was already in the 60’s. Huh? Is this New Jersey or Florida?
I went about my morning routine, and I hit the road about 8:30. It was supposed to rain later in the day, so my goal was to get out and back before that rain. I was aiming for 14-16 miles, depending on how things went.
The first part went great. It didn’t feel that hot, to be honest. I went up and over the hill and down to Millburn. I passed a group of three runners – two guys and a woman – that I often see out on Sunday long runs. They go the opposite direction from me. We smiled and waved. I felt great.
Kept going to a park in Maplewood and hit the turnaround point at around 6 miles. Still felt pretty good. My breathing was easy, I was sipping on my water, and my legs just felt the slightest bit fatigued.
The next few miles, I pushed through. The effort was a little higher, but still felt pretty good. I passed through a park in Millburn and saw a bunch of kids out playing soccer. I tried to stop and fill up my water bottle, but the water fountain was turned off. Huh? It’s May!
Kept going and hit the 10 mile mark in about 1:25. Nice. Feeling good.
But I was also feeling hot. Starting to feel a little dehydrated. My shirt was getting soaked. I took it off, and the breeze on my skin felt better for a bit.
Then, I hit the incline. There’s a steep hill on the way back, and that hill combined with the humidity left me humbled. I was sucking wind by the time I got to the top, and I had to slow down quite a bit to catch my breath.
Until that point, I was thinking of going the full 16 miles and pushing the pace in the last few once things leveled out. But at this point I decided to call it at 14 miles.
A little further on, I had to stop for a traffic light. I walked up the last super steep hill and jogged down. I passed the group I’d seen earlier. The two guys had their shirts off, too. The weather seemed so much better at the start of the run.
My breathing was back to normal, and I was cruising at an ok pace. But I was clearly drained. I finished up the last mile, walked in the door, downed some cold water, and enjoyed a shower.
Then, after breakfast, it was time for a solid nap on the couch.
This happens every spring. At some point, the weather turns, and it takes time for my body to adapt. Hopefully things get better from here. But I’m really glad I brought my water along.
Monday: A Wet Morning on the Trails
Ah, that familiar feeling of stiff, tired legs. I didn’t feel terrible when I woke up. But I definitely felt like I went for a long run the day before.
I set out for an easy six miles on the trails. There’s rain in the forecast all week, but this morning was just a light drizzle on and off. The first mile was slow while everything loosened up.
At first, the temperature felt fine. But I quickly felt warm and my shirt felt sticky. Two days in a row – the shirt comes off. It’s about to be summer.
I passed a couple of runners – a younger woman and an older man – who I see on the trails frequently. Gave them a wave. Kept on going to the turn around point, and my pace improved a little in the home stretch.
On the way back, I passed the same couple. The guy was carrying his shirt in his hand, just like me. Like deja vu.
Although my legs were loosened up a bit, I forced myself to keep the pace slow. Finished up in ~59:00 – slow, but my heart rate was nice and low and my effort was controlled throughout. Good recovery day.
Tuesday: Back to Doubling
I initially had a few more 8 milers on the schedule for this week. But I decided to keep my mornings short, and I added in a four mile double.
The morning was uneventful. Six miles on the trails. Felt better than yesterday, but still went a bit slow. My pace was only slightly faster, but the effort was definitely easier.
It was raining when I woke up, so I had second thoughts about going out on the trails. But it ended up being pretty nice while I was out there. Just a light drizzle, buffered by the trees.
But my timing was great. By the time I was out of the shower, the sky had opened up and it was pouring for a bit. I’m thankful I didn’t get caught in that.
After work, I hopped on the treadmill for a quick double. Four miles – less than 40 minutes. The first couple minutes, my legs felt tight and stiff. But they loosened up within the first five minutes, and then the time ticked off while I watched another episode of Andor.
Wednesday: A Light Speed Workout
This morning, I went back to the Reservoir for another speed workout. I did a similar workout to last week, aiming to gently push the pace and ease back into faster work.
I started with an easy lap around the Reservoir. The second lap, I did a few easy strides, and I stopped for some leg swings. Everything felt pretty good.
On the second lap, I did 6 short reps (.1 miles, ~160m) and one longer rep (.2 miles, ~320m). It took me one or two reps to really get moving, but I felt pretty good. In the final, longer rep, I felt stronger as I went. Usually with a 400m, I’m flying out the gate for the first 200m and struggling in the last 50m. But this time, I struggled to get up to speed and then cruised on home in the second half.
The third lap was a repeat of the first. My legs were pretty warmed up at this point. I didn’t look at my watch, because I didn’t want to force the pace. But I felt like I’d improved. Again, the final rep got faster as I went.
I jogged home and finished up the eight miles.
When I got home, I took a look at the data. The pace varied between 6:00/mi and 6:30/mi. There were one or two reps where I got all the way down to ~5:45/mi. For both of the longer reps, I was cruising at ~5:55/mi towards the end.
My top end speed isn’t quite back. When I’m loose, I can knock out 200s in 41-42s pretty easily. These reps would have been equivalent to ~45-47s. But I feel better than last week, and I think this is a step in the right direction.
Thursday: A Quiet Morning on the Trails
Thursday morning, I went back to the trails. Another quiet six miles.
Didn’t see many people out, and it was uneventful. On my way back, I saw a tail on the trail ahead of me. Thought it was someone’s dog – but I realized as I got closer that it was the bushy tail of a fox.
He darted off the trail into the woods before I got any closer.
Finished up in 58:41. Faster than earlier in the week. My legs felt fine, maybe just a little bit tired from yesterday’s workout.
Friday: Threshold on the Treadmill
Last week, I got things started with an easy threshold workout – 4×5 mins with 2 minutes jogging rest. This week, I wanted to up the volume to 6×5 mins, and I kept the longer rest. I planned to do this down at the Reservoir and hit 10 total miles for the day.
But it was raining pretty hard when I woke up, and I just didn’t feel like dealing with that. So instead, I hopped on the treadmill. I started with a 30 minute warm up jog, and then I launched into the intervals.
The first one, I eased into the pace – starting at 8.0 and bumping up to 8.5. That felt comfortably tough, and I stayed there for the rest of the workout.
The next two were pretty easy. By the fourth rep, I was sweating pretty hard. It was a little warm and humid in my basement. But I pushed through and finished all six reps with some gas in the tank.
The pace on the treadmill read 7:04/mi, but I know the treadmill isn’t well calibrated – so it was likely mid to high 6:00’s. Probably not a true threshold pace for me (~6:20/mi), but likely back down to or below my marathon pace.
It’s another step in the right direction. And although I was tired when I got finished, I felt great throughout the day. No lingering fatigue, and my heart rate was pretty chill and relaxed. No signs of workout stress.
Saturday: Finishing Up On the Trails
Saturday morning, I slept in a bit. Then I hit the trails to wrap up the week.
I initially planned on six miles. But I ended up cutting my treadmill run yesterday to nine, so I just added an extra mile to Saturday.
I hit the trails a little later than usual, and the weather was beautiful. So I saw a fair number of other people. Some regular faces and some new ones.
After a few warm days, today felt great. It was a little brisk. You could hear the wind through the trees, and it was sunny above the canopy. But on the trails, it felt beautiful. Just the kind of day to make you love trail running.
I felt great, and it was like I hadn’t even done a workout the day before. By the second mile, I was all warmed up, and I split 9:14. Other than one uphill mile (9:26), the rest were below that. I hit 8:55 for one, and averaged ~8:55-9:10 for the last few miles.
This was one of the best runs I’ve had since Jersey City. Definitely on the cusp of being back to normal.
Reflections and Looking Ahead
Although I was humbled by the humidity on Sunday’s long run, I’d mark this week as a success overall.
I got my mileage back up, and I started to push myself a bit with the workouts. Both workouts were light on volume and slower than usual, but my legs are coming back to life. I think another week or two, and I’ll be at 100%.
Saturday’s trail run was a real confidence booster. There’s always that magical moment after a marathon where everything clicks – and your body feels normal again. This felt like that.
My top end speed wasn’t there on Wednesday, but hopefully that clicks this week, too. Next Saturday is my first race of the season – a mile. If I’m not feeling it, I won’t push myself too hard. But my PR is a bit soft (5:40), and even if I’m not 100% I think I can knock that down to ~5:30 or so. Wish I had another week or two, but this is the way the calendar worked out.
There are other signs that I’m recovering and feeling better. My resting heart rate has been a bit higher than usual and my heart rate variability has been a bit down since the marathon. Not low-low, but just lower than usual. Perhaps another sign that my body was battling some kind of minor illness behind the scenes – or for whatever reason, something just wasn’t 100% inside.
But this week, that’s all gone in the opposite direction. My resting heart rate is a few beats lower, and my HRV status has rebounded and stabilized. It’s better than it’s been since March.
My weight is also improving. I was in the low to mid 170’s before Jersey City, and I’m slowly trying to trim back down to ~165 by the end of the summer. I’ve been eating a bit better and drinking a bit less, and after a month I’m back to fluctuating between 168-170.
Solid progress, and once I get back to regular mileage (~70mpw), I think I’ll have no problem stabilizing back around 165.