Rough week of work and running

I've been doing fairly good on keeping my blog updated, but I'm starting to realize that it's no easy task. I was able to input a daily post, but I knew that it wasn't going to last very long. I also found out that sometimes I don't have much to write, besides the workout I did and how it went. I'll try my best to post updates at least a few times a week.

Getting in the runs during the week has been a difficult task. I had to juggle my running with my busy work schedule. I put in 3 workouts in a 24 hour period on Wednesday/Thursday. The legs were pretty tired so I used Friday as a recovery run. Yesterday (Sat.), I ran easy on the Mata Mile trail. Been at Fort Bragg for a few years and I still don't know why they call it the Mata Mile trail. The trail is a 4 & 6 mile loop that has some rolling hills with loose sand/dirt.

I had planned to start my long run at 6:00am (6:30 at the latest) to avoid some of the heat. Of course that didn't happen, I woke up at 6:15 and started my Nike Triax watch at exactly 7:00. The good thing was that my legs and body felt fresh, maybe from the extra amount of sleep. I decided to use my POD (podemeter), which is secured to my left shoe. The Nike Triax CV10, which consists of the watch, the POD, and a heart rate monitor, is probably the best running investment i've purchased over the years. The POD is calibrated by running 400 or 800 meters on the track. It has an accuracy of 99.9%, regardless of the surface you run on. I used it today to track my pace and distance.

I hit the roads running pretty easy the first few miles. My watch read 21:18 at mile 3. I like to keep the first 3-4 miles of my long runs above 7:00/mile pace. This will get my legs warmed up pretty good. I checked my watch again at mile 4 and it read 6:54. I can tell that I've now settled in because my effort is still the same. Mile 3 was the last time I saw a 7:00+ mile throughout the run. I kept miles 4 - 13 between 6:40 and 6:55 pace. Still feeling good at 13, I knew the hard part of the run was coming up, running the last 20 minutes faster. I wanted to make sure my POD and watch was accurate so I finished the hard part of the run on the track. This track is right next to the gym I park at so it works out well. The POD/watch turned out to be accurate as I checked it each lap. I covered 3.4 miles in the last 20 minutes of the run, about a 5:53 pace. This is a good sign for me. I end the long run just a little over 16 miles.

Friday's Run: 43:47
Saturday's Run: 51:21
Today's Run: 1:49:31

Weekly Summary:
It's been a rough week, but I was still able to put in 63 miles. This is with 7 workouts in 6 days. Today marks the last day of base training, so I'm excited to start another phase of training.