SUMMARY, WEEK 31

Daily Quote: "Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win." --Tom Fleming's Boston Marathon Training Motto.

Early AM (before bedtime): Warm up, 10 minutes on stationary bike. Full body weight circuit training. Cool down, 10 minutes on the elliptical. I had a sore lower ab muscle, therefore only did one set of crunches, 20 reps, on a inline bench...will gradually return to doing four sets of 20 reps of crunches eventually.

Later AM (after eight hours of sleep)
Recovery Run. 6 miles. Time, 58 minutes. Pace, 9.40 minute miles. Life Fitness Treadmill on the cardio training mode setting where the elevation automatically changes to keep my heart rate at a constant 144 bpm (75% of maximum heart rate). Treadmill speed set at 6.2 mph. Elevation changes: 2.0 - 2.8 grades. Once the elevation starts climbing over 3.0 grade I'll adjust my speed to 6.3 mph (9:31 minute per mile pace) so my Recovery Run doesn't become a hill workout. This a Recovery Week, therefore my body might be responding to the extra rest and not due to my heart adapting to 6.2 mph speed.

SUMMARY FOR WEEK OF JULY 29 - AUGUST 4, 2007

Finished fourth week of 4 week training block (I will increase my mileage each week during the first three weeks and use the fourth week for recovery). This Recovery Week ran a total of 58 miles and continued to run seven days a week. The following are the total miles for the last 4 weeks training block:

Week 28, 73 miles.
Week 29, 79 miles.
Week 30, 80 miles.
Week 31, 58 miles.

My next 4 week training block I should surpass my highest weekly mileage ever of 84 miles that was set during last November's training for the New Las Vegas Marathon. I'm well rested and eager to return to higher weekly mileage.

I'm still consistent with my circuit weight training and continued to lift weights three times during the week, although during most of the week I ceased doing crunches due to sore lower ab muscles.

I lost one pound last week and I'm now 171 pounds on a six foot frame. Normally I would gain pounds during a Recovery Week and am pleasantly surprised with the loss of weight. My goal is to reach the low 160's for the 2007 New Las Vegas Marathon.

My morning heart rates have been very low, not surprising as last week was a Recovery Week and my morning heart rates are in the 39-42 bpm range. I've slept very well for the whole week as I've been placing less emphasis on getting on the computer.

A short recap of last week's mileage:
Sunday: Recovery Run, 6 miles.
Monday: General Aerobic Run, 10 miles.
Tuesday: Recovery Run, 6 miles.
Wednesday: General Aerobic Run, 9 miles.
Thursday: Recovery Run, 6 miles.
Friday: Long Run, 15 miles.
Saturday: Recovery Run, 6 miles.
Total mileage: 58 miles.