SUMMARY FOR JULY 14-20, 2008

Daily Quote:

At the same time as you are training your endocrine system to respond to stress, you need to train your mind to get an endurance attitude. Those same 25-30 mile long runs will do that. One needs to experience the fatigue, and develop the resolve to run on in spite of it, learning that by relaxing and concentrating on form, you can keep moving forward when any sensible person would have stopped.

--Karl King, Ultramarathoner

This weekend was rather expensive as we spent $1,700 on natural landscaping for our front yard, which included 20 tons of stones and several water stingy plants. Our home is more water efficient and will be economical in the long run as we do live in the desert. No more lawn mowing!! I was still able to get in two easy 5 milers on Saturday and Sunday that completes my Recovery Week.

SUMMARY FOR WEEK OF JULY 14-20, 2008

Finished fourth week of my four week training block (I'll increase mileage for three weeks then the fourth week is a recovery week) and ran a total of only 44 miles. I'm looking forward to increasing my mileage this coming week as I feel I'm totally recovered from the last four weeks of tough training.

Not surprisingly, I gained one pound during Recovery Week, I'm now 176 pounds on a six foot frame. I hope to reach 165 pounds for the 2008 Las Vegas Marathon in December.

I accomplished three sessions of weight circuit training last week and plan on doing three sessions again this coming week.

I was able to sleep very well this week as my training was reduced and had plenty of time to sleep at least 7-8 hours per day. My morning heart rates were a bit high at the beginning of the week, but now I'm in my normal 38-42 bpm range. I'm ready to start hard training again.

Mileage for my last four week training block:
Week 1: 52 miles.
Week 2: 55 miles.
Week 3: 57 miles.
Week 4: Recovery Week: 44 miles.

A short recap of last week's runs:
Monday: General Aerobic Run, 9 miles.
Tuesday: Recovery Run, 5 miles.
Wednesday: General Aerobic Run, 8 miles.
Thursday: Recovery Run, 5 miles.
Friday: General Aerobic Run, 7 miles.
Saturday: Recovery Run, 5 miles.
Sunday: Recovery Run, 5 miles.
Total Weekly Mileage: 44 miles.