SUMMARY, AUGUST 11-17, 2008

Daily Quote: "You won't know how you're going to perform until you get out there, so you must be able to adapt accordingly. Don't be afraid to back off for 15 minutes if that's what's needed. It takes courage and confidence, but you'll be surprised how much it helps you recover. Plus you'll find you run stronger later on so you'll make up the time." --Nick Sharp, Team Saab Salomon ultra-runner.

This weekend was a luxurious Recovery Weekend as I ran 5 miles for both yesterday and today. I spent many anxious moments watching the Olympics on television. Too bad the Olympics is only every four years.

SUMMARY FOR WEEK OF AUGUST 11-17, 2008

Finished fourth week of four week training block (I'll increase mileage for three weeks then the fourth week is a recovery week). I did run seven days, but only ran a total of 48 miles as I was in Recovery Week. I feel well rested and eager to return to hard base training tomorrow. I have two more weeks of base training before I start my marathon training on September 1st!

I managed to gain a pound last week, I'm now 174 pounds on a six foot frame. Undoubtedly cutting my mileage, but not reducing my consumption of calories didn't help my weight loss. I'm still hoping to reach 165 pounds for December's "Las Vegas Marathon."

I've accomplished three sessions of weight circuit training last week, which is easy to schedule weight sessions when I had reduced my mileage workload. Next week will be tough cramming in my weight training as I return to adding even higher mileage.

I easily slept 7-8 hours per night due to my reduced training load, my heart rates have been very low, 37-40 bpm, that assures me I'm well rested for my vigorous training next week.

A short recap of last week's runs:
Monday: Medium-Long Run, 12 miles.
Tuesday: Recovery Run, 5 miles.
Wednesday: General Aerobic Run, 8 miles.
Thursday: Recovery Run, 5 miles.
Friday: General Aerobic Run, 8 miles.
Saturday: Recovery Run, 5 miles.
Sunday: Recovery Run, 5 miles.
Total Weekly Mileage: 48 miles