Feb. 21 through Feb. 27

Monday Feb. 21: Had today off from work, so did not get up and lift (lazy, I know!). I did my 4-mile run in the late afternoon. Ran 4 miles in 31:11 for an avg. pace of 7:47 p/mile. For more details, click here. Used one-scoop of HEED (tasted like HEED-Lite) in about 3/4 full of a Nathan bottle. Avg. heart rate was 165 bpm.

Tues. Feb. 22: Unintended day off. Went to the local track, dressed and ready to do speed work, and lo and behold the local high school team was practicing. So, I suppose I'll have to start doing speed work in the mornings until school out.

Wed. Feb. 23: Ran 4.15 miles today in 32:08 for an avg. pace of 7:44 per mile. For more details, click here. Did not carry any water or fuel with me. Felt fine. Avg. heart rate was 167.

Thurs. Feb. 24: Power-hiked up a local hill, and ran back down, turning out 1/3 of a mile loops. Did 9 loops in 40 minutes for a total distance of 3.07 miles. Avg. heart rate was 169. Total elevation gain: 1,242 ft.; total elevation loss: 1,251 ft. For more details, click here. Legs felt fine, no soreness this week--due mainly, I think, to not lifting weights this week.

Sat. Feb. 26:  Ran 14.11 miles in 2:35 at an avg. pace of 11 mins. per mile and an avg heart rate of 158. Total elevation gain was 1,410 ft and total elevation loss was 1,405 ft. Felt good until around mile 13. Something about coming off the trails and onto pavement causes my body to revolt.  I took one Perpetuem Solid every 15 mins (as opposed to every 20 mins like last Saturday), and that seemed to work a lot better. I stuck with one Endurolyte every 20 minutes and that seemed to work okay.  I averaged about one Nathan bottle of water per hour.  For more details on the run, click here. Afterwards, I took Recoverite and supplemented it with Whey Protein. I also sat in an ice bath for 10 mintues--getting better, but still painful. On Sunday, my legs felt good. No noticeable soreness or tenderspots.