Saturday, January 3, 2015

A New Year, A New Weekly PDR (in just six days)

I had this week off of work. So, what better thing was there to do than to attempt a weekly PDR?

Weekly PDRs are difficult to attain during work weeks when putting in lots of miles means early wake-ups, running a bunch of miles, working all day, then squeezing in a few more in the evening. However, being able to sleep in, then wake up and run relaxed paces without any deadlines makes loading up on miles easier and more enjoyable.

Anyway, my previous weekly PDR was just over 83 miles which I attained over seven days of marathon training last September. This is how this week's PDR broke down:

Sunday 12/28 Morning: 16 miles along the Lakefront Trail
Sunday 12/28 Afternoon: 4 mile recovery

On Sunday I ran 20 miles total
Monday 12/29 Morning: 10 miles along the Northshore Channel Trail
10 miles on Monday through Sculpture Park
Tuesday 12/30 Morning: 12.4 miles along the Lakefront Trail
12.4 on Tuesday
Wednesday 12/31 Early Morning: 8.0 miles to Wrigley Field
Wednesday 12/31 Late Morning: 5.0 mile recovery run to McDonald's
Wednesday 12/31 Evening: 2.3 mile recovery run (breaking in new shoes)
Wrigley as backdrop to 13 on New Year's Eve
Thursday 1/1 Morning: 16 miles along the Lakefront Trail to Navy Pier
Happy New Year! 16 miles
Friday 1/2 Morning: 10 miles along the Lakefront Trail
Friday 1/2 Afternoon: 2.6 mile recovery (breaking in another pair of shoes)
The geese and me on Friday for 12.6
Saturday 1/3: Rest

Weekly Total: 86.5 miles (previous PDR 83.2)

I could have actually squeezed in a few more miles today, but not wanting to be greedy (and not wanting to overdo it), I took the day off completely.

So how did I feel during the last few miles? Fantastic. In fact the last mile of my 10 miler Friday morning was run at 6:33/mile. I think if I am reasonable by not punishing my legs too much, and at the same time I build endurance, the whole running package comes together quite nicely.

I have a "bucket list" goal to run a 100 mile week, and I hope to get there someday - maybe even this year. However, it won't be anytime too soon. It's back to work next week, then I head up for the S-No-W Fun 5 mile race in Wisconsin. If there is enough snow, I'll do some cross country skiing there in addition to running. I also signed up for the F^3 Half Marathon in late January, and I will need to work a little on speed before that one. I'm not sure when I'll set another weekly PDR, but I'm looking forward to it, whenever it happens!

20 comments:

  1. WOW. Just WOW. Congratulations on setting a new PDR and feeling like you could have done even more! It's wonderful to hear that this came so easily for you, too. Absolutely, you'll be able to run a 100-mile week in the VERY near future! I love how you did a couple of recovery runs while breaking in new shoes. Those are amongst my favorite runs. =) And to break in two new pairs in one week? Heaven!!!

    See you at F^3 in a few weeks!!!

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    1. Thanks. Yes, I was happy with my decision not to push myself in order to add miles just to get a bigger number. In running it's usually better to "quit" while you're ahead! :) Yes, I have always had issues breaking in new running shoes, so I like to take them out for slow recovery runs for a few weeks before I use them on "regular" runs. Yes, see you at the F^3. It should be fun! :)

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  2. You're crazy! Guess that explains why we are friends. ;)

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    1. Ha! Yes, it's more fun in the loony bin! :)

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  3. I'm amazed! Glad you got the chance to try this out!

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  4. Wow! You're so methodical in the way you've done this. It is truly amazing the way your body acclimated to the extra mileage. If the snow we're getting now hangs around I think you'll be good for snowfun!

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    1. Yes, I'm lucky that my body was able to respond to the increase in mileage. Fingers crossed that it stays this way!

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  5. That's amazing, especially this time of year. I can't imagine running that kind of mileage. I'm hanging around for your 100 mile week!

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    1. Yes, I actually could run forever in this weather. I hope you can hang on for awhile, 'cause who knows when 100 will happen! :)

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  6. Wow Pete, that's a lot of running!! I don't think I could ever run that much myself but maybe in a few years. :) I'm signed up for F3, see you there!

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    1. Thanks! Yes, looking forward to seeing you at the F3!

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  7. Wow! That's amazing! Great job! The most I ever did was 40 miles in a week. But I'm typically around 15-20. Marathon training puts me closer to 30 usually.

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    1. Thanks! My average last year was ~35 miles per week. So, last week's PDR mileage is definitely an anomaly! :)

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  8. Woo hoo! Congrats on the new PDR! I loved reading this and seeing how you did it. It's so fun to push it and see how many miles you can fit in while still feeling good (<--- that part is so crucial!). My PDR is in the low 70s, from when I was on furlough in Oct 2013! Do you always count Sun-Sat? I have noticed sometimes if I counted that way my mileage would be higher, but I count Sun-Sat. :)

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    1. Thanks! I was wondering if someone would comment on my Sunday through Saturday week. I think the old desktop application "Garmin Training Center" uses Sunday through Saturday. That's how I got started tracking it that way. Plus that's technically a calendar week. I think most runners are on Monday to Sunday. Maybe I should take a poll? Congrats on your PDR. Perfect time to run lots of miles!

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  9. Great job Pete! I am amazed with all of the running you do. I am trying to get motivated to run 3 times a week and this weather is not helping.

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  10. Congrats on all your mileage Pete.

    What does PDR stand for? I know it probably is yearly monthly miles.

    Which new running shoes did you get?

    -Agnes
    https://aggieruns.wordpress.com/

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    1. Thanks! PDR stands for "Personal Distance Record", it can be yearly, monthly, weekly or even daily! I run in Mizuno Wave Inspires.

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