"The Switch Flipper"

A few weeks back, AJW wrote a column over on iRunFar about the "switch flipper," which he described as that breakthrough workout that re-confirms the training you have been doing is working and that your body is ready to handle an increased load.  For me, that workout was yesterday.

Week of 5/12

This week was awesome.  Like usual, Tuesday was a speed day with the added benefit of the mercury climbing over 90.  Thursday was a single track/bridle combo that involved torrential downpours with flash flood warnings and two water crossing (one barely a trickle and the other a little tricky).  Overall it was a 32 mile week.  The mileage is slowly starting to inch upwards in advance of the Eastern Divide 50k next month.  I certainly won't have the conditioning level to race it hard but it will be a great way to spend a day in the mountains power hiking the uphills.  The week went like this:

Week of 5/05

This was a scheduled rest week that turned out a little lighter than originally planned.  That is what happens when you have awesome newborn twins though.  I generally plan a down week every 2-3 weeks, depending on how I am feeling.  Although I take a lot of rest weeks, in comparison to others, it keeps me relatively injury free.  The week went a little something like this:

Week of 4/28

This was a good 30 mile week.  My new plan involves 2 heart rate based workouts along with 2 other runs based on feel.  Tuesday will be an anaerobic day and Sunday will be a fat burner to hopefully help me run more efficiently during races.  It was a little odd running with the HR monitor this week, as I haven't worn it since my last race (in November).  Overall the week went like this: