Recovery week completed

Wow, another week of the 'program' is almost under my belt! Just the long run of only 16 miles on Sunday to complete the 1st third of the 18 week program. Thus far things have gone prety well as planned with the green blocks for runs as scheduled and yellow for underperforming. There were a few yellow blocks early on when I was still recovering from the Cabot Trail relay and needed a couple of easy days but it's mostly a positive so far.
This week was a cutback/recovery week with a total of 66 miles completed since Sunday. It was also a week off from work at the office but not from various chores around home. Managed to get a few things done between running, watching the Tour and just taking it easy generally.

Weds - 6 miles easy as the legs were tight from the strides on the previous day. I'm going to try to do alot more of this gentle speedwork, especially after my easy runs. It's meant to help with your range of motion and leg turnover without applying much stress. The main stress that I'm enduring lately is the miles upon miles and not the draining speedwork on the track.

Thurs - 13 miles easy out on the road out of town with 8x100m strides in the last mile or so. Total time was 1:46 for 8:08 avg pace and carried water plus gatorade for the run.

Friday - 10 miles easy around town using the various trails and paths which gave the most amount of shade on this warmish day with temperatures in the mid 20ies C (low 80F). I also carried a bottle of water and refilled it at the town square. The avg pace was only 8:22/mile today with the legs and joints feeling it a bit from the strides on the day before.

Sat - today was another warm day and only able to get under way by about 9:30am for this easy 6 miles. Used Mr V today as an aid to keep the pace easy (around 8:30/mile) and came in at 8:25 avg at the end. Also carried water and refilled at the town fountain, only losing 1 lb during the run. A nice finish to this run and a few others this week has been a quick dip in the pond to cool the legs down. The pond is only about 32 inches deep but that's perfect for cooling the legs and scaring the fish a bit.

The rest of the day was spent finishing up a project to repair a fence gate and path that goes around the house to the backyard. And now a little blogging and watching the World Cup consolation game.

Good running all!