Training August 6th-August 12th

Monday- It was a slow hilly run on the treadmill. My legs were fatigued and slow from the two runs the day before. It took me 1.5 hours to run 10 miles:( I did go up to 10% incline but it wasn't my finest day. Even with the slower pace, it was a hard run.

Tuesday- I met Bruce in the morning for our usual 12 mile loop. The legs were still sore but not quite as bad as the day before. We averaged in the high 7's almost 8's. The legs still had no pep.

Wednesday- Hallelujah! It took an afternoon run in 100 degree temps to wake up my legs. The 7+ miles to work felt easy at the 7:20 pace I was running. After stubbing my small toe at work(It is probably broken:() I ran home and that too felt pretty easy. I ran 14.35 for the day and in 1:45.

Thursday- Another very encouraging day:) I met bruce for our usual 12 mile canal loop and added two miles my legs felt peppy:) That made it 14.25 miles for the morning at 7:45 pace, but the toe is black and blue and i am beginning to be concerned that the toe is broken. Then I decided to get on the treadmill and add another hour hill work:) It felt easy(7 miles up to 12% incline. That made it 21 miles for the day:)

Friday- A much needed day off:)

Saturday- Only one hour on the treadmill this morning. I ran from 1% to 12% incline and from 7.5 to 6.5 mph. I totaled 7 miles.

Sunday- I did squat:) That leaves me with 64 miles for the week which is very poor. The next two week's training will determine whether I will be running Tahoe or not. The motivation is just not there right now.

Why Do I Like Double Workouts?

I know there are pro's and con's on the effectiveness of double workouts, so I will get one of the major con's out of the way.

In my opinion, there is no debate, breaking up a long run over two runs isn't as effective as doing the long run in one run. I don't know of too many people that would argue that, BUT there are advantages to doing double workouts.

First, I like doing double workouts because it promotes calorie burning 24/7. So, I will do one or two double workouts so that I can "lean up" for a peak race.

Also, I find that double workouts simulate sore legs at the end of a long race. This helps me mentally to prepare for the final miles of a 100 mike ir 24 hour race.

Lastly, I like double workouts because the second workout can serve as a "shake-out" run to get the legs ready for a key workout the next day or it can be used to loosen up the legs after a morning speed work session.

I know double workouts may not be popular by some, but I find them to be an essential part of my training.