Jan. 12

124 days until Massanutten.

Tested the new Terignota vest today for the first time. A short 56 minute (7.05mi / 364ft) run to check everything worked before this weekend. Vest came with two bottles (Hydropak but Terignota branded with locking tops) and I ordered a third since the vest will hold three. First impressions:

  • Fit is snug but comfortable. I realized post run that it was possible to adjust the closure loops on the chest - I will be loosening them a bit which should make the fit even better. The adjustment is “hidden” inside the zip pockets which is nice but I didn’t notice at first.
  • The bottles felt a little more difficult to slide into the chest pockets than my Salomon. The Active Skin 4 has been my go-to vest for a while.
  • The storage slot for the third bottle is in the back at the base of the vest. Pretty easy to get the bottle in. Did not test pulling it out. Didn’t even notice it was there while running.
  • There was zero bounce. In the past I had moved away from bottles to a bladder because of the bounce. The downside to that is not being able to tell how much I’ve drank, which isn’t great when trying to measure fueling.
  • The lock tops on the bottles are nice to keep from accidentally spilling while inserting/removing. Once in the front pockets I just left them open.
  • The bottles are also wide-mouth which will make refilling with fuel (powder) easier.
  • Did not try carrying any gels. There does not seem to be as much capacity as my Salomon. For me this won’t be a problem as I like wearing my Naked running belt and keeping most gels there anyway.

Jan. 13

7.04mi / 364ft / 56min. Basically the same run as yesterday. Threw in a few strides to see if I could get a little pop in the legs. Right hip is feeling a bit janky - something always seems to act up the week of a big effort/race. Weekend looks like it will be a cold one.

Weekly totals:

  • 14.09mi
  • 728 ft

Jan. 14

6.14mi / 329ft. I run pretty much the same few routes all the time but still a pretty boring week.

Weekly totals:

  • 20.23mi
  • 1,057ft

Jan. 15

5.67mi / 304ft. Worked on the hip a bunch last night and feeling way better today. I stretch / massage every night but find a few specific ones are important to keeping everything working well. Sometimes I forget that and leave them out so made sure to cover everything.

Weekly totals:

  • 26mi
  • 1,361ft

Jan. 16

5.07mi / 267ft. Easy breezy. Last run before the big weekend. Anxiety setting in a bit. Mind wants to bring up all the things I haven’t done and how “unprepared” I am. Have to push the noise aside. No matter what I get to spend a weekend in the mountains and some quality time with family.

Weekly totals:

  • 31.07mi
  • 1,628ft

Jan. 17

MMT Training Run 1. 32.22mi / 5,433ft. I wrote a separate detailed post here - overall a great day at a pretty conservative effort. 5hours, 59min, 59sec total.

Weekly totals:

  • 62.29mi
  • 7,061ft

Jan. 18

Waterfall (WTF) 50k. 31.30mi / 7,721ft. Again, I’ll write a separate post. Legs responded well and I was able to get the overall win in 5hours, 47min, 51sec by my watch.

Weekly totals:

  • 93.59mi
  • 14,782ft

Weekly recap

Traditionally we tend to think of training in terms of weeks. A typical training block consists of 3-4 weeks “on” followed by a week “off”. “On” means higher volume / intensity while “off” is more of a rest week to let your body recover and benefit from the training stimulus. Since I have just started my base phase a little over a month ago and I’m not doing any workouts I pushed the on block to 5 weeks, ending last week Jan. 5 - Jan. 11. And yet, if you look at my mileage progression this week ended up being the largest volume-wise by far.

Back to “thinking of training in terms of weeks”. Monday - Friday this week were very light but Saturday and Sunday were massive. The next few days will be light again as I recover and prepare for another on block.

All that to say I’ve started trying to think about training less in terms of weeks and more in terms of relative volume. You can’t realize gains without rest, but thinking only in terms of a 7 day calendar can be restrictive when trying to plan around races and life in general.

Couldn’t be happier with how the training is going so far and looking forward to a few days focused only on recovery.