June 19-25, 2017

June 19, Monday, was a well-deserved REST Day for me after my weekend “back-to-back” training runs which culminated in a 10.5 mile recon run in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija & Fort Magsaysay. The heat of the sun on those exposed single-track trail put a lot of exhaustion and fatigue to my body system. I usually have a complete rest on this day by eating and having more time to sleep on Sunday and Monday evenings.

This week will be my first full week of training from Monday up to Sunday. On Tuesday, the training schedule was for me to do a 1:30-hour Endurance Run on a trail and I selected my Backyard’s Loop #2 Trail as my course. This course is what I fondly called as the “Brown Mountain” course which is a wide-dirt road and eventually turns into a single-track trail to the foot/peak of Mt Quadrante and Mt Tambong/Mt Maniwalan. I was able to cover a distance of 7.17 miles for 1:31+hours with an average speed of 12:42 minutes per mile. I observed that my run was very comfortable because of the cooler air as I started my run very early in the morning, before the sun rises.

On Wednesday, I had my first “hill repeats” or Interval Training workout. The total time for this workout, to include the warm-up run; hill repeats & rest between interval; and the cool-down run, would result to 1:30 hours. I did my “hill repeats” in a place where the housing subdivision was discontinued and the place was all mine in the early morning as there were no people in the area. It was my first time to feel the shortness of breath and the feeling of being dizzy as if I am going to have a “heart stroke” after I did my 4th repetition. I have to adjust my pace but I tried my best to push harder as I reach the highest elevation/end of my hill repeats in every repetition. I have to bring up my knees higher; swing my arms faster and wider; and breath as hard as I can. The total distance that I covered was 6.78 miles but I felt that I was able to force my heart and lungs to a higher level of exertion than I had before!

On Thursday, I had my Recovery Run/Easy Run for one hour where I covered a distance of 5.20 miles. This was done on a paved road where the first half was slightly going uphill and then back to where I started.

On Friday, it was another 1:30-hour Endurance Run which I decided to have at the same course that I did last Tuesday (at my Backyard’s Loop #2). The same as of Tuesday’s run, I have to run up to the mountain for 45-46 minutes and then turn-around towards the starting line for the second-half of my workout. To my surprise, I was ahead or faster by 2:30 minutes when I reached the turn-around point during my run last Tuesday and I just continued my run for more elevation gain for the rest of my time before turning around for my last 45 minutes back to where I started. I was able to cover a distance of 7.63 miles on this workout!

On Saturday, I had my second “hill repeats” session, the same session/workout that I had last Wednesday but the total number of hours for this workout is 2:30 hours. Since it was the schedule of one of my PAU races (Mariveles To Bagac 50K Ultra Run), I have to think of a way where I can insert my training workout while I am supervising this race. Instead of “hill repeats” of going up the hill and then back down the hill, I improvised my “hill repeats” by continuously going up towards the peak or highest point of the course. So, I brought my vehicle to the highest point of the course, parked it, and then I started my warm-up run by going down the mountain for 40 minutes on an easy pace. From the point where I made my turn-around, I returned up to the mountain doing my “hill repeats”. After 1:20 hours, I continued my run and tried to catch up with the runners of my race. After 2:30 hours I was able to cover a distance of 13 miles. Since the road was not as steep as my “hill repeats” on Wednesday, I felt I did not push too hard and felt that I was still strong after the desired number of hours of my workout for the day had elapsed.

On Sunday, the goal was to practice running and hiking on a higher elevation gain for 4 hours which is a good equivalent of “double-traverse” to my Backyard’s Loop #3 (Mt Roosevelt Traverse). It was also a workout to train for my hydration and nutritional needs in longer runs with more elevation gain. I was in the company of PAU runners who just finished in the previous day’s 50K run! We had some rests and “pit stops” along the route but we were able to make it in 5 hours for a total distance of 13.3 miles. It was nice to be back on this course which I missed for the past 4 weeks. We had some delays on our uphill climb due to the growing tall grasses and plants that partly cover the trail. On our way back for our 2nd traverse, the sun was already hot as most of the trail is exposed to the sun. We slowed down due to the heat and I had to submerge myself to a flowing stream, 3 miles before the finish line! We ingested some solid foods and soda drinks at the turn-around point (Mile 6.6).

Everyday, I have to force myself to sleep 8-9 hours every night and after my “hill repeats” sessions, I had to take a nap in the afternoon for some rest. My nutrition intake for the week consists of ordinary Filipino foods and fruits.

The following are the totals for this week:

Total Duration (Time): 13:40 Hours

Total Distance: 52.8 Miles/84.48 Kilometers

Total Elevation Gain: 21,795 Feet

Elevation Gain Per Mile: 412.78 Feet

Lace up and go run!