Weekly Summary 7/18 through 7/24

Everything you want: Full Fat, Great Taste and a Long Life

First 100 mile week in Iraq!  This week had some great workouts and a few that didn't go as well as I wanted.  Work was also a challenge, as I took on a new job for 4 days that was much more stressful.   

Monday-
AM 1:12, 9.28M, 133Av Hr;

Felt pretty good this morning despite being up late. Was really, really bummed to see the US Women's Soccer team loose to Japan... the US was the better team. Ran a sub 9 min/mile on the first mile! Morning recovery run loop counter clockwise. HR was good at 133 for the average.
PM :29, 4M, 1,050ft, 139Av Hr;

Very rushed on this second run at 3pm. No stretching, no core/push ups or situps. Long night at work afterwards too... dinner after 8pm.

Tuesday-  SPEED!
AM 1:38, 12.52M, 140 Av Hr; 
Morning Speed Workout. Warmed up, did general mobility and was ready to roll on the desert dirt. Today I planned on doing 12 x 400 meter repeats vice the 10 I have done the last two weeks. Week one's average pace was 5:10, week two 4:59 and today I hoped to hit 5 pace for the average on 12.
Felt good and felt fast on the way out. On the way back it started to hurt and I began to question my choice in going for 12. The last 3 intervals were in the category of giving all I had.

Pace for the 12 x 400M:

1) 5:04
2) 5:00
3) 5:04
4) 5:02
5) 4:57
6) 5:00
7) 5:02
8) 4:50
9) 4:51
10) 4:48
11) 4:41
12) 4:46

Average pace 4:54

I was very happy to knock out 12 at a faster pace today. I hope next week it will come a bit easier for the last few. The cool down was a bit of a struggle home.

PM :30, 4M; 1,050ft, 137Av Hr;

Felt surprisingly OK on this 4 mile treadmill run. 3 sets of P-ups/S-ups.

One of two "bodies of water" on base I call Heart Lake (named after Heart Lake by Roger's Pass).  A highlight of many runs.  Yes, it used to be for sewage treatment.

Wednesday-
AM 1:16; 9.3M, 128 Av Hr;
Hottest morning yet.  Overnight lows are now around 90.  I was slow and tired from yesterday's great workout. A little concerned about a full recovery for the Pit tomorrow...
Good low Av Hr though.

PM :31, 4M, 143 Av Hr;
I was exhausted on this run. Had to get off the mill at 20 minutes for an emergency visit to the restroom.  I had some stomach funk all day.  At this point I knew The Pit wouldn't be visited at full strength, even the HR pointed to this conclusion.  
Too tired for core or push up sit ups.

Thursday-  THE PIT!
AM 1:15, 9.15M,  1,425ft, 147Av Hr;
As I mentioned already, yesterday was pretty rough. There was a stomach bug going around the office and I got a mild version of it (a few had it REAL bad). I hit the bathroom 6 times yesterday. By the time I did my second run yesterday I was really worn out from not absorbing my food.

Far exceeding the initial difficulty of getting out of bed, today I was really dragging. Once warming up, I was running very slow and felt weak. I considered taking the day, but I really didn't want to. I then considered trying the workout in the afternoon on the treadmill.... that would be horrible. So I concluded to just try and do the workout.

After general mobility and strides I still felt exhausted.

The first interval or two I was happy to see that I wasn't totally dead, but it was a bit slow. I pushed through the workout and was happy to complete all 15 intervals in just under 41 minutes. Last week I completed the 15 in 39 and change, first time just over 40 minutes, so not bad, feeling the way I did.  I have another gear on this workout, as I mentioned last week and I will find it soon.  

Next week, I'll be ready to hit this hill workout strong.


PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft, 137Av Hr;
Easy treadmill 4 miler.   Last ten minutes I was feeling real weak and tired, like I was bonking.  At least my HR was back down a bit from yesterday's second run.





Friday-
AM 1:28, 11.2M, 525Ft, 133Av Hr;
Felt better today. Ran 2 miles, then hit the treadmill for 2 miles at 5% grade for 525ft of climbing in 15 minutes. Hit the dirt for another 7 miles. Feeling recovered from the funk of the last few days.


Saturday- Long Run

AM 2:46, 22.3M, 1,550ft, 146Av Hr;
Got a decent night of sleep and woke up at 3:45am, running at 4:00am. Warmed up a mile and then did 5.6 miles on the treadmill @ 7:35 min/mile pace at 5% grade for 1,478ft of climbing. I drank 25 oz of water with one serving of EFS lemon lime mixed in while on the treadmill. I prefer the EFS powdered drink mixed with a lot of water.

Headed out for the big loop at about 5AM. A little hotter today than previous weeks. Drank 40oz more of water, and 3oz of EFS liquid shot. 
The loop went well, but I was pretty tired from the the big week and the extra mileage on the treadmill to start with.  I wore my white hat to keep some of the sweat out of my eyes.  No snakes today.

Here are my splits:

1) 9:24... dark, at 4AM shuffle!
2-7.5) 7:35
8)7:46
9) 7:39
10) 7:37
11) 7:22
12) 7:41 Crawled under an old fence and ran through some brush
13) 7:18
14) 7:12
15) 7:18
16) 7:19
17) 7:03
18) 7:03
19) 7:14
20) 7:17
21) 7:17
22) 7:15

Average pace 7:29, Average HR 146, 1,550ft total climbing

I was pretty happy with this long run after this challenging week. I am certainly more tired after the run than I was the last two weeks. HR was a touch higher and average pace a bit slower than I would like to see, but pretty good considering the climb, dark, and terrain (dirt/sand/gravel/brush) I ran on. 

Sunday-
AM 1:26, 11.25M, 550Ft, 134Av Hr;

Got out of bed 30 minutes late today, but luckily it was breezy and dust clouds blocked the direct sun from becoming scorching hot.
Went from a 9:09 first mile to the treadmill for 2.1 miles of climbing at 5% grade at 7:30 pace, back to running on the dirt at 7:50 pace, :40, :30, :20, :10, :07 for the last mile. 

CHUs... Containerized Housing Unit

Weekly Summary-

Miles: 101
Feet Climbed: 8,250
Time Running: 13:02

It was a diverse, but great week.  The 12 x 400M repeats on the dirt with an average pace of 4:54 two days after a solid long run and solid week, was very encouraging.  Getting a one day stomach bug the next day made for an uphill battle for pretty much the rest of the week.  I made the 100 mile mark, but didn't have to add any miles outside of my original plan for the week.  I'll stick with this week's framework for next week without any increases in climbing, mileage or repeats, but hopefully see average heart rates stay the same or lower, have a better day at The Pit and add a mile to my long run.

Felix Schlarb with his Mom and Grandparents

Days and weeks are clicking by.  I'm amazed at my son Felix's growth and development... he is crawling all over the place now!  My wife continues to get hotter, I swear and my friend's adventures in the mountains more wonderful sounding.
Congratulations to two of my better friends in the world having their first kids: Jeremy and Tiffany Wolf with baby Autumn and Rob and Kelly having baby Riley.  Also cograts to Chris and Karl for completing the Trans Alp mountain bike race.

Lastly, looking to put a 50 mile race on the calendar for the weekend of the 20th or 27th of August out here in Iraq.  All are welcome.