the week in training...

Well, I just received the final results from Saturdays 10-k and I must say I was pretty surprised. I was pretty close on time as I wound up finishing in 47:39.

What I was surprised about was how close I could have been to finishing first in my age group. The top age group spot went at 46:23, a time I feel I could have easily attained had I picked it up a bit in the first half. I know it's still not a super fast time but I can still remember finishing my first 10-k in under an hour and thinking it was the hardest thing I'd ever done because it probably was at the time.

Next year I'll be back!

Anyway, after my satisfying day Saturday I was able to cheer my wife on at her race Sunday. She did great and managed to secure 2nd place in her division! Man I hate it when my wife beats me at the races but overall a great weekend for the Jaques family as we both medaled in our respective events. I'm especially proud of my wife because I'm sure I'm able to get out and train ten times to her 1 and she still goes out and has a good time. Thanks to her fantastic swimming abilities and new bike she was able to take probably ten minutes off her time from last year.

Sunday evening I was able to get about 2.5 hours of running in down at the trails and became ever more convinced that my GPS is very inaccurate in the trees and switchbacks. After running sub 8 minute pace for most of the 10k my Garmin only gave me credit for 12 miles in 2.5 hours. Hard to believe, especially since I have been consistently running sub 2 hour half marathon splits in my training runs. Oh well, the experience of being on my feet on the single track was more what I was after and I feel I accomplished that. I spent the first hour and a half running from daylight to dusk and was able to get a good hour in running with my headlamp. I had one near miss and one full fledged crash tripping on a root so I can only imagine how many times I will fall at night during a hundred mile race. I was not even that fatigued but had to make a very conscious effort to lift my feet and make sure to clear obstacles. I can see why Karl Meltzer, an elite ultra runner consistently runs with fingerless cycling gloves. I imagine 24 hours of crashing on rocky terrain could be rough on the palms.

Monday was work/rest day.
Tuesday I had a pretty good hour training run at the park and was proud that I finally took the time to learn how to download sermons at my church to my itunes and then to my shuffle. Since I was unable to attend Sunday due to sick kids I was able to take the time on my run to listen to the entirety of my pastors sermon, I found it a great use of my time for two reasons. First, I probably am better able to pay attention to a sermon while running than doing anything else and secondly, it forced me to run easy and light on my feet so I could keep my heart rate relatively low while being able to focus on the message. I look forward to utilizing this technique in the future, not just for sermons but books on tape, lectures etc. I have always enjoyed listening to books in the car but my present 4 minute commute hardly warrants it.

Wednesday I was able to get 15 miles in but definitely felt a bit sore. Have still been having some ankle tenderness and a little bit of shin pain. The pain currently seems different than classic shin splints as it is more medial to the bone. Ever since I went too hard on the treadmill several weeks ago I have noticed it. Unfortunately, there is not much soft to run on around here lately as even the trails are about as hard as pavement with the lack of rain. Decided to take two full days off with the goal of running 30 miles tomorrow morning.

Switched to Perpetuem from Hammer Nutrition so that may also take a little getting used too. It is noticeably less sweet and a bit thicker than the accelerade I was using so we'll see how it goes. Based on all the athlete testimonials I have read Hammer Nutrition makes some great products.

Only 8 days till Nashville!