Recovery Week

Week #9 of training for the Laurel Highlands 70.5 miler and Burning River 100 just wrapped up and this was my second active recovery week. Every 4th week of training is dedicated to extra crosstraining and extra rest with a highly reduced running load of as much as 50% less miles.  I have adopted this approach to training schedules for any race distance whether I am training for a marathon or more and find my recovery time is quicker and I am able to train more effectively.

In the past week temperatures have dropped back to the teens with single digit and negative wind chills and I am happy to have a light week! I took an extra rest day on Tuesday and hit the gym Wednesday for a 5k on the treadmill and crosstraining.  This was my first time at the gym since last winter’s cold weather.  I have needed to up my crosstraining game and I think recovery week gym trips will be a staple going forward.  We had negative 20 windchills on Saturday so that became another treadmill and crosstraining day at the gym.   I ran 6 miles and then worked out my legs, core , and chest and then hit 2 more miles on the treadmill.

Training – Trails and Tribulations

Yaktrax XTR

Coming into Week #10 I was feeling very strong. I was off work on Tuesday and headed out for a run with the high hopes of knocking out 20-26 miles thus freeing up the weekend with only shorter runs (10-12 miles). Conditions were very slushy and icy so it was the perfect opportunity to try out the Yaktrax XTR spikes. The spikes are aggressive and handled the conditions very well.

Made for trails they are durable with rubber outsoles, stainless steel chains and manganese steel spike plates. Manganese steel has around 13% manganese in it and has a high impact strength and resistance to abrasion once in its work-hardened state. Dependent upon the size you wear they weigh in at 11.7 to 15.6 ounces.

Spiky like punk rock hair

The XTRs incorporate an anti-snow pack plate which effectively kept the snow from clumping to the bottoms of my feet. They bite into the ice on hill climbs making for a much easier ascent.  And aside from crossing a rocky patch or  a road I could not tell I was wearing them at all.  The spikes come with a bag to store them in so they can easily be kept in a pack for when they are needed.  If you are heading onto the trails throughout the winter I highly recommended these. Retails around $45.00. I picked up this pair at TJ Maxx for $20.

Back to the 20+ miler run that didn’t happen. Some runs are effortless. They are easy and beautiful. This run was not. It was perfect for the first 7 miles. I felt great. That is until everything went haywire in my intestines. I’ll spare you the details, but I used the bathroom 3 times in 3 miles, 2 of those were not formal bathrooms. I always carry a ziplock full of tp in my hydration vest so I was prepared. Afterwards I was wiped out and walked much of the last 5k back to the car. That said, I had 11 on the schedule and I did get 11 so that is a win. Those last 3 miles walking I lost my body heat and was freezing and had a Raynauds attack in my right hand. Since then I came down with a cold going around the office and have skipped one scheduled run. I am starting to feel better and feel confident about getting around 40 miles in this weekend.

Fingers, eyes, and toes crossed…