Peak #1

Today I hit peak #1 in the base building phase of this training cycle.  The 7 day moving average after today’s workout stands at 104.21.  It’s the 3^rd time the moving average has hit triple digits in the past week – the last two on Monday (103.53) and Friday (100.97).  Now the 7 day moving average is scheduled to slide down as I have a mini-taper coming up for the 5 days prior to the Cobscook 10k and a recovery run the day after.  A quick look at the calendar indicates the next peak will be around Father’s Day.

 

I have now completed a 6 x 6 day cycle build to peak time.  From this point forward, the 6 day cycles will alternate between a higher and lower time cycle which will keep the weekly mileage fluctuating by about 10-15%.  Allowing for recovery days and mini-tapers embedded in the cycles, this method seems to be keeping the mileage high but without the rigidity of specific mileage targets.  This build was much easier on the body than my prior builds.  I attribute this to the alternating daily time component and that each run is run according to how I’m feeling.  On some days this caused me to run less than I thought I would and on others, quite a bit more.  I have also found that my peak weekly mileage (calculated as ending on Sundays) is about 10% less than prior builds.  Perhaps the mileage will increase as I get fitter but there isn’t a target.

 

I started using a 6 day cycle because it was easier to manage as my goal was to average a particular time spent running.  The odd 7^th day was just too much math.  At first this method caused the build to accelerate as the average time increased quickly.  But now I have the reward of alternating the upper and lower cycles and I’m feeling pretty good.

 

Today I ran for 2.5 hours. ~16.4 miles.  Last hour with Eric – fresh from Long Island.