Weekly Summary 8/1- 8/7 & Support the Troops Via The Iraqi White River 50 Mile

1920s Italian Tankette

Monday-
AM 1:11; 9.38M, 137Av Hr;
Felt good this morning. Sub 9 on the first mile and by the end of the run I was down to 7 pace. A couple beets per minute fast on the HR, but overall, I can tell my fitness is coming along.


PM :30; 4M, 1,050Ft, 145Av Hr;
Was tired from lack of sleep Sunday night.

Tuesday-Super Speed
AM 1:33, 12.63M, 148Av Hr;
Woke up this morning well rested and with morning temps a few degrees lower than the last two days (92 vs 97 or 98).
I was excited to do this workout.

The wind, unfortunately, was a bit up this morning, maybe 10mph.

12 X 400 meter repeats with a .37M jog recovery across the desert fields. 2 mile warm up, general mobility drills, 2.5 mile cool down.

Here are my splits (pace for the 400 meter intervals):

1) 5:20
2) 5:07
3) 5:00
4) 5:05
5) 5:08
6) 4:57
7) 4:35
8) 4:42
9) 4:48
10) 4:40
11) 4:43
12) 4:40

Average Pace: 4:53
Avg Hr was 149 (with cool down), 178 max.

I felt pretty good on the way out, but the wind was challenging. Felt really good on the way back, the best I've felt on the 4 speed workouts. The last two were pretty much all out. Great day!

PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft,
Felt better than I expected after my morning speed. 

Wednesday
AM 1:17, 9.37M, 128Av Hr
Certainly flat from yesterday's good speed session. Effort was super easy, but things went slow due to legs... my heart rate reflects this.

PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft, 146Av Hr
I moved to a new place and used the other gym today. Good news, the treadmills are in the middle of the gym and the gym is packed, thus entertaining. Bad thing, the treadmill I used was old. I think the % grade may be different as I was dying on 5%...

Thursday-New Best Pit Record

AM 1:13, 9M, 1,425Ft, 150Av Hr
Poor night of sleep in my new CHU. Contemplated going back to sleep, even stopped just after a I began my warm-up and thought of not doing the workout...

Good thing was that it was in the lower 80s for the first time in weeks this morning, so I went for it. Felt OK after doing general mobility.

Despite the rough start, today I fount that next gear at The Pit today!

I felt strong on every repeat, running between 1:11 to 1:17 on each interval for a total time and best of 39:03.
Things are coming along.



PM :30, 4M, 1,050Ft
Found out the Treadmill I used yesterday is totally screwed up. I ran on a different treadmill and today's run went well and I felt great.

Friday-
AM 1:15, 9.79M, 134Av Hr
My first run from my new room. Did my regular loop backwards with a modification on start/finish. Felt pretty good, windy a bit but cooler than the last few weeks.

Forgot I usually do 11M today with 2 on the treadmill... just decided to run extra this afternoon.

PM :24, 3.2M, 845Ft

Great first run in the small gym located right next to my room. I am very happy to have found this magical spot... very nice Nautilus treadmill, AC right behind the treadmill, bathroom just feet away, combo lock on the door that only the few residents around me have, a fridge just a few feet away too and finally... an outlet for my laptop :)

This location will be where I do my treadmill running for my Iraqi White River 50.


Saturday-Long Run with Skype

AM 3:06, 25.27M, 2,566Ft, 146Av Hr

Essentials: EFS and Ultragen by 1st Endurance

I woke up at 3am having dreams about the morning long run... a little anxious I suupose.
I used the mini gym which is a stone's throw from my room. I set up my netbook, listened to Pandora and talked to my wife Maggie and son Felix WHILE I ran on the treadmill. I also used the toilette located right next to the treadmill and stored my Nathan water pack in the mini fridge right behind the treadmill. The mini gym is really just a converted trailer, but it is absolutely awesome for my situation.

Did 8.1 miles at 7:30 pace, 6% grade, 2,566ft of climbing. I drank 32oz of EFS lemon lime drink.

Went outside and rolled the dice on figuring out a 16 mile loop from my new location. Obviously it is the same area, but still I wasn't sure how the loop would work for mileage as I ended up running a bit further, 17.17M.

Felt pretty good on the treadmill, average heart rate was only 147 for the 8 miles with 2,566ft of climbing (6%).

Once out running the loop, the legs were a bit flat/tired and I thought it might be a slower run that the last few long runs. Low and behold, things turned out better than I thought they would and I kept a good pace.

Here are my splits:
1-8) 7:30
9) 7:48
10) 7:38
11) 7:35
12) 7:30
13) 7:47
14) 7:21
15) 7:15
16) 7:23
17) 7:06
18) 7:04
19) 6:59
20) 7:00
21) 7:10
22) 7:14
23) 7:21
24) 7:28
25) 7:30

Average Pace: 7:24

The last couple miles were rough and, again, I ran out of water a little over a mile out. I drank 82oz of water during this run, 2 servings of EFS lemon lime, 3.5 servings of EFS liquid shot berry.

Sunday-
AM 1:22, 11.23M, 633Ft
Woke up to a sandstorm. Joined the guys headed to the gym for a spin class and ran 11.23 miles on the treadmill.

Did a 20 minute warmup then 2 miles at 6% grade for 633ft of climbing at 7:30 pace followed by 15 minutes of 6:45 pace at a -3% grade to work the downhill running muscles, then the rest of the run at just under 7 pace.



-Weekly Summary and Iraqi White River 50 Mile Update-

My running came together this week.  I managed to have a successful speed workout Tuesday, hill repeat workout Thursday, a good long run with 2.5K of climbing at a good pace and distance and lastly the weekly totals representative of a solid week of ultra training.  The plan from here is to get one more solid week of training followed by a week and a half taper before "The Iraqi  White River 50 Mile".

Every season of every year is dynamically different and as I mentioned last week, my last year has been all over the map.  While I have a hard time comparing it to the last few seasons, I feel I have managed to get in shape, for this regiment and now it is time to test myself.

Mileage: 106
Feet Climbed: 9,669
Time Running: 13:21

THE IRAQI WHITE RIVER 50 MILE

The Iraqi White River 50 Mile will be Saturday the 27th of August!
I challenge all to support The Iraqi White River 50 by supporting the troops: Army and Air Force Enlisted or Iraqi Cadets at the Iraqi Air Force Academy here at Tikrit Iraq.   Let me know if you, or your organization  will help support.

"Supporting" can be all sorts of things:

-posting the race on your blog, facebook, twitter, website, etc...
-sending running product/stuff to give to enlisted Airmen, Army or Iraqi Air Force Cadets
-a skype call while I run the 20 mile treadmill portion of the race
-money donation to an organization supporting wounded warriors or veterans in need
-whatever you want



I'll make a post this week with more details on the race and opportunities to support.


LCD Soundsystem is one of my favorites.  James Murphy kept me going strong 4am Saturday morning.