I've made several attempts in the past to run the GAC 10K loop in Bradley Palmer State Park only to go off trail and never run more than 2-3 miles of the course. Today I overlaid my Motion Based data onto a BP Trail Map and made another attempt. Success! I manged to follow the entire 10K loop without missing any turns. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this sooner.
My first loop was slow (12 min pace) as I stopped at several intersections to check the trail map for directions. I felt more comfortable with the course on loop number two and brought my pace down to 11 min pace for the second 10K. My final loop was run at slightly under a 10 min pace with the last mile at 8:40. I felt strong for the entire 30K run. I was a little surprised how well I felt considering I ran 40 miles in the past three days. That's a lot of running for me. The only issue I had during the run was pain in my left knee. Three weeks and counting. It doesn't seem like this pain is going away any time soon.
Last week didn't go exactly as I planned. Although I did get in a good track workout, I was under my weekly mileage goal and totally bonked trying to do a long run in Middlesex Fells on Saturday. It's been a long time since I've run on trails as technical as the Skyline Trail and it showed. My planned 20 mile run ended far short at 12 miles. Lack of sleep and calories in the days preceding the run may have contributed to my demise.
Total Miles: 43
Long Run: 12
# of Runs 6
Avg Run: 7
With 18 miles in the bank and the VT50 mile relay coming up on Sunday, this should be a big mileage week for me.
Can't wait to see and try the OVERLAY! But getting off trail-- off course-- can be really fun, especially with great company. Rest well
ReplyDeleteYou knee problem sounds awfully familiar. I've been dealing with left knee pain since mid-July and it's frustrating how long it's taking to heal. Heat therapy and massage help quite a bit, but it's still far from perfect. This became painfully clear during today's track workout after a couple of fast mile intervals. Maybe it's best to stick to trail runs for now and worry about speed later...
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