Cobbled

When I first decided to add Iowa to my 50 state goal I hadn't even finished Missouri and I needed a plan. I looked at Hidgon's multiple marathon schedules (for those folks doing marathons close together) and I cobbled together a schedule using Yasso's plan that seemed to work well in Missouri. I basically had 6 weeks between the two races, so I divided the schedule into 3 two week sections. The first week was Recovery, the second Go and the third was Taper. During the Go and Taper weeks I used Yasso's weekly mileage and compromised between the two for the long run. Two weekends ago Yasso would have had me do a 22 miler, instead I used Higdon's 18. Last weekend I gave myself a goal of 14 to 16 and ended up with the 16. This weekend the goal was 10-12 miles.

During the week I held to Yasso regimen fairly well. Tuesday and Wednesday I made it to Bonelli before sundown and did 5 and 4 at an easy pace, about half on trails and half on roads. Thursday called for 6 miles on a hilly route. I knew right where I would go, but my right IT band has been acting up a little lately. I remember the PT telling me, when the thing was really bad, No hills and No concrete. Many of my runs in Dallas and last weekend's 16 miler were on concrete. Since I'd pushed that rule a little and was paying for it, I decided to turn the 6 miler into an easy-ish run rather than the hills. I ran the streets of Covina at a 9:04 pace. It seemed like a good alternative.

I was pretty much on my own today for the last long run. The CA Cruisers were going to be a huge presence at the Long Beach Marathon and Half Marathon tomorrow so they were taking the day off today. I slept in and didn't get started until well after 9:00. It was of course a beautiful day for a run; overcast and in the 60's. I headed over to the San Gabriel River Bike Path and clocked my 12 miles in 1:51 using a 6:1 run:walk interval. I was pretty happy with the 9:15 pace. It would be really nice to be able to keep that up next weekend in Des Moines.