The weekly runs

Here's a breakdown of my typical running week:

Monday

Monday, a.k.a. Recovery Day #1, is a day reserved for running with my border collie, Tobie. He's about 10 years old, and 6 miles is about all he's got in the tank. Tobie likes to stop, sniff and pee at every scent along the route, which is either on the Fall Line Trace (a bike/jogging path) or at Lakebottom Park. During a high-mileage week (80+), I may include another run of 3-5 miles in the evening.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning hurts, but I look forward to it probably more than any other day, maybe for that reason. This is interval day. Off-season (when not specifically training for a race), the intervals are usually between 200-800 meters, but when training for a marathon, the distance of the intervals are from 1.5-3 miles, with the hardest day being a 5 x 2 mile workout. Once you factor in a 2-mile warmup and 2-mile cooldown, with 1/2 mile jogs in-between intervals, that's a pretty long morning. John Ellison has been joining me for this sufferfest the last few weeks. On Tuesday evenings, I have been joining a group at Lakebottom Park for an easy 3 mile run. This helps loosen up the tired legs from the morning.

Wednesday

An easy-moderate day, but second-longest mileage day of the week, I have been showing up at the Big Dog (North) Running store at 5am for 6 easy miles, and then joining the 6am group run from that location for another 4 for a total of 10 miles. I run the 6 miles before the group run at any easy pace (8:30-9:00+), and the group tends to run along at a quick clip in the 7:30-range. On Wednesday evenings I'll either run a few more miles alone, or with a group from the other Big Dog store in Uptown Columbus.

Thursday

John Ellison and I have been meeting in the mornings somewhere between our two homes, which are 1/2 mile apart, and going for 8-10 miles at a relatively easy pace, which is something John has been learning to do. Lately, I've been really tired on this run, as the long mileage from Tuesday and Wednesday has taken its toll by now. Thursday evening I have been meeting a group at Lakebottom Park for 3 miles, or so, at an easy pace. I try to include striders into either the morning or evening run, but only do so if I'm feeling fresh, which usually isn't until the evening.

Friday

Recovery Day #2. Just like Monday, except there is no evening run. The goal is to be fresh for Saturday morning.

Saturday

The long run day. In marathon training, that means 16-22 miles. I'll either do this as a steady easy long run (most of the time), or a progression run (HARD!). This run starts at the Big Dog Uptown location, usually at 6am, but earlier if the day is going to be hot.

Sunday

Easy trail run of 6-10 miles, or on a soft-surface (dirt road?) to give the feet some rest.