SUMMARY, WEEK 35

Daily Quote: "A lot of athletes will talk to me about minimizing slowing down at the end of a race." I tell them it's the same thing as doing a VO2 max test on the treadmill -- quicken your stride, lower your shoulders, think form -- really just instructions to relax. You'll use less oxygen if you're running smoother, so you can run faster." --Dr. David Martin

Before my run completed full body weight circuit training. I also added wrist training to strengthen my puny wrists as to avoid injury (thanks to Boscho at about.com running/jogging forum for the wrist exercise link.)

Today is a General Aerobic Run.
8 miles. Time, 1:12. Pace, 9:06 minute miles. Life Fitness Treadmill set at 6.6 mph with a 1% grade. Average heart rate: 144 bpm. Cardiac Drift: 149 bpm. Music partner today is the soundtrack from the motion picture "Dreamgirls." I'm not fully recovered from yesterday's long run, my left ankle is troublesome...tomorrow I'll run an easy Recovery Run and keep a close eye on that ankle.

SUMMARY FOR WEEK OF AUGUST 26 - SEPTEMBER 1, 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). Last week was also my last week of my base building phase as starting tomorrow I'll begin my marathon training in earnest. Last week was a total of 66 miles, which was a good Recovery Week effort. The following are the total miles for the last 4 weeks training block:

Week 32: 82 miles.
Week 33: 83.2 miles. (extra .2 miles is due from racing a 10k race)
Week 34: 86 miles. (new personal high for weekly mileage)
Week 35: 66 miles. (Recovery Week)

I'm still consistent with my circuit weight training and continued to lift weights three times during the week and have added wrist training exercises too. When I gradually transfer my runs from the treadmill to the roads, I have to decide when to do my weight training as I'm currently training before easy runs after work.

I gained one pound and I'm now 171 pounds on a six foot frame. The weight gain isn't too surprising as I reduced my mileage for Recovery Week, but my diet was pretty much the same. Plenty of time to reach racing weight before the "New Las Vegas Marathon" on December 2nd.

My morning heart rates have remained fairly low, 40-44 bpm, but a little higher than last week due to work stresses from a very busy convention in town. I also didn't sleep soundly for most of those convention nights, only managed 5-6 hours of sleep during the week. This upcoming week will focus on getting more sleep.

Only 13 weeks until the "New Las Vegas Marathon" and will start marathon training tomorrow.

A short recap of last week's mileage:
Sunday: Recovery Run, 7 miles.
Monday: Medium Long Run, 13 miles.
Tuesday: Recovery Run, 7 miles.
Wednesday: General Aerobic Run, 8 miles.
Thursday: Recovery Run, 7 miles.
Friday: Long Run, 16 miles.
Saturday: General Aerobic Run, 8 miles.
Total Mileage: 66 miles.