Monday - 11.5 in 79.39
Warm, upper 60s, temps got me in a groove.  Embedded 25 min tempo run.  Felt great.

Tuesday - 6 
Easy day.

Wednesday - 10.25 in 79:58
4 x 800, 400
Felt fast today.  Jogged to the track for my warm-up.  Low and behold, a track meet was happening.  Damn.  Had to adjust on the fly.  Did the workout on a flat, gravel road.  Ran on time.  2.40 for the "800" and 1.20 for the "400."  Ran in flats.  This was exactly the turnover workout I needed.  I worked hard and got the pistons firing.

Thursday - 10 in 74.53
Normal 10 mile loop at the farm.  Not dead after y'day so that's good.

Friday
PT leg exercises and strengthening.

Saturday - 18 in 2.08.48
Good long run.  Felt good throughout.  Never fatigued that bad and certainly didn't hit the wall.  Spent the afternoon/evening hanging w/ EJN et al at the Marathon Expo and Marathon Sports Party.  Good times.

Sunday - 10.25 
Easy run.  Incorporated 4 strides on grass.

For the Week
66 miles
Analysis:  Good week.  Feel like I'm getting in shape.  Looking for another good one next week.  The Wednesday/Saturday runs are signs that my training is headed in the right direction.

This Week in Running: 4.1 to 4.6.13

Monday - 11 in 76 mins
Got caught in a sideways rainstorm but I felt great and didn't give lick.  Trail Run.
Tuesday - 6 in 46 mins
Easy day.
Wednesday - 10 in 70 mins
2 x 10 min w/ 2 min recovery then 1 x 5 min
Ran on trail/road combo; did the pickups at a comfortably hard effort
Thursday - 10 in 76 mins
Not a slow trail run
Friday - pt exercises and strengthening at the gym
Saturday - 17 in 2:02.58
This run didn't come easy and the weather didn't help. Cold and windy.  I thought this was April.
Sunday - 10 in 79 mins
Felt good.  I may have run more than 10 miles.

For the week: 64 miles
Analysis: Good first week in the training block.  Would've liked it to be a touch warmer; it is April after all.  The Wednesday workout went well and I'm looking forward to stepping on the track this upcoming week.

The Last Two Weeks: 3.18 to 3.31.13

The last two weeks have been some planned downtime.  Objective: take a planned break from running instead of running until something breaks down.  This is part of my 2013 resolution.  So, the last two weeks I have taken days off and completed casual runs.  I have continued to do PT/core/strengthening work with mostly my body weight during this time. Total mileage: 45 ¾ miles.

I’m excited for this next training block: April 1 to July 4.  I want to start running fast again and have charted out a plan that includes one workout per week dedicated to speed training and VO2Max improvement.  I’ve spent the last several months building back from the ab injury.  The base has been good but the speed has been not.  Part of the plan also includes racing my way back into shape.  For me, racing provides a stimulus that is often hard to mimic in solo training sessions.  I’m looking forward to mixing up this spring and summer.

Must continue to be smart.  

This Week in Running: 3.11 to 3.17.13

Monday 
11 in 77:54
First mile was around 8:00; last 6:38.  2 x 10 min moderate pickups w/ 3 min rec between each.  Warm outside.  Ran in shorts.  Felt okay.  Not great.  Happy to see my ending pace (cruising) was about the same as one of my pickup splits (into the wind).

Tuesday
5 in 51:14
Snowshoe run.  As a tweeted at the time, "nearly impossible snowshoe run today. watery mashed potatoes w/ a side of dirt."

Wednesday
10.25 in 76:16
Hill loop workout: 3x3min hard w/ 2 min recFelt like I got a good training stimulus on this one.  Got into a hard groove.

Thursday
8 in 66:44
Not so much is a groove today.  Tried running some trails but they were slow in parts (snow covered still).  Felt tired and slow today.  This sometimes happens after a good, hard workout the previous day.

Friday
gym.  complete PT regiment including some strength training.

Saturday
5-ish in 45-ish
4 strides in last mile
On the roads in the 0500s - on a Saturday.  Did what I could in the time that I had.  I didn't feel like waking up in the 0400s 6 days in a row.

Sunday
New Bedford Half Marathon
77:12
place 108
pace: 5:54
splits
1,2 - 11.54
3 - 6.06
4 - 6.03
5 - 5.41
6 - 5.40
7 - 5.38
8 - 5.50
9 - 5.48
10, 11 - 11.57
12 - 5.59
13 - 6.01
.1 - 37

Analysis: Executed the game plan: started conservatively.  Didn't finish as strong as I would've liked but that 20k hill is killer coupled w/ the wind.  Still no excuses.  Felt good in the middle miles and enjoyed running w/ my teammate Jim Pawlicki and then Jeff Goupil.  I ran w/ a gu and took it just before 10.  First time I ever did that in a half and I didn't regret it.  Running w/ one in my hand didn't bother me at all.  Felt much better than during Amherst 3 weeks ago.  No GI issues and my body just felt in better shape even though my time was about 4 minutes slower than last year.  I missed a lot of time from July to Nov last year and I'm paying the piper for that, but I'm going to keep grinding until I get to where I know I can be.

This Week in Running: 2.25 to 3.3.13 and 3.4 to 3.10.13

Last two weeks of training.  This is as close as I'll get to a Moulton Brothers running log.

2.25 to 3.3
Monday - 7 miles in 65:54. sore
Tuesday - 5.5 miles. snowshoe.
Wednesday - 10.75 in 77:05. treadmill.
Thursday - 10.75 in 84:44. long strides @ end.
Friday - sick.
Saturday - 5.75. sick
Sunday - 9.75 in 75:47. feeling a little better.
Week - 49 1/2 miles
Analysis: Bad week. Sore from Amherst then a stomach bug to end it.

3.4 to 3.10
Monday - 8.25 in 73:22. dead and now a head cold.
Tuesday - off. not feeling well.
Wednesday - 11 in 81:51. 6x80 sec hard. 4x40 sec hard. good.  glad I took y'day off.
Thursday - 10.25 in 71:59,. treadmill death march.
Friday - off. moved a lot of snow around.
Saturday - 17 in 2:02.29. great run.
Sunday - 9.25 in 69:54. easy day.
Week - 55 3/4 miles.
Analysis: Ugly start. Good finish.

March/April Edition of Level Renner

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This Week in Running: 2.18 to 2.24.13

Monday
12 in 89:xx
This run wasn't much fun.  I could get used to the temps but the wind was horrendous.  Wind chill must've been under 0.  Some of the roads were basically unplowed because the wind blew the snowbanks back onto the street.  Couldn't get any type of pace going.  The ground was frozen solid.  Running on this type of terrain, I believe, is what led to my plantar fascia issues of 2011.  I'm trying to be smarter (new year's resolution), so I modified the loop and ran the last 3.5 indoors.
Tuesday
6 in 51:03
This was my first official run in Dion Snowshoes.  It was so much more fun than yesterday.  It was nice and quiet in the woods and the trees helped block the wind.  Also nice not to concern myself with pace.  Today is a light/easy/recovery day.
Wednesday
11.75 in 80:40
Good day.  Tempo pace for miles 3 through 10.  I was working on pacing.  The first two were into the wind and were 6.50, 6.37.  Oh boy.  I'm out of shape.  Effort felt much faster than that.  On the way back, I started to feel better and (or because?) I had the wind at my back.  For the last three I wanted to go hard, easy up but not too much, then hard again.  Splits: 6.05, 6:31, 5.54.  Pumped to get the sub 6:00 clocking b/c I was in control and paying attention to form.  As I am working my way back into shape, I am trying to recalibrate my body to appropriate pacing.  That's why I let the foot of the gas for that middle mile on the way back.  Note: I ran this tempo in the NB 1400.  I plan on making this my racing shoe and wanted to make sure it and I will be ready for Amherst.
Thursday
8 in 65:xx
First 40 mins on snowshoes then did the rest on the roads.  Felt fine.
Friday
planned off
PT Exercises and strengthening at the gym.
Saturday
8.5
Legs had some pop in them prerun.  That was exciting.  I incorporated 6 strides into the last mile.
Sunday
14 miles
 DH Jones 10 mile race in Amherst.
59:59
73rd
Not pretty.

For the Week
60 1/4 miles
Analysis: A good week of training that ended with a rude awakening in Amherst.  I got work to do but I'm still building something here.