End of the Week Recap 3/14/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  This week was a big week for mileage, but short on cross-training/conditioning.  I ran 46.33 miles at an average pace of 8:22/mile.  I did only 35:00 minutes of cross-training.  This is a sad trend for me, in that my cross-training tends to diminish exponentially as my mileage goes up.  In my defense, I’m tired after 40+ miles for the week.  I weighed in late this morning as I was helping my wife and kids pack up the car for spring break (miss you guys already!), but I did come in at 159.2 lbs.  Interesting little fact:  after my long run today, I lost nearly 5 lbs from dehydration! 

My long run was 21 miles at 8:48/mile.  I was hoping to keep it around 8:30/mile, but my back was sore from cross-training yesterday (I did a lot of bridges and deadlifts).  When you throw in that my right shin has been bothering me periodically, I guess I should be happy that I was able to manage sub-9:00’s.  Today I ran the back half of the marathon course. 

From elevation charts

I was doing okay, right around 8:30/mile until, I hit mile 19.64.  I had the worst leg cramp that I’ve felt in a long time slam me to a stand-still.  The pain in my left calf was so acute that I would have fallen to the ground if I were able to bend my knee.  Instead I let out a bellowing scream as my leg locked up and nailed me to ground.  I managed to stretch out my calf and start walking.  I walked a tenth of a mile and picked up my pace to a slow jog.  It was rough, but I finished the last mile and half to end my run.

I didn’t get any time at the YMCA this week due to my crappy schedule, and I probably won’t again this week because of another craptastic schedule.  My family is on spring break in Gulf Shores, and I miss them already.  The only upside is that I should be able to get lots of rest and guilt-free exercise.  Later kids!