100K week

I did it. I ran 64.4 miles in seven days, or 9.2 miles a day. 103.4 Km. It is the most running I have ever done in a week's time. While it may not impress the hard-core distance runners among you, it did not come easy for me. Although I have to admit that the last two days were better. I did see a dip in the middle.

Every day for the past week (starting on Friday Feb 27), I ran 9.2 miles on the treadmill. I usually started out at 7.5 mph for a short .75 mile warmup. Then I would increase the speed to 8 mph or above. Every day except one, I managed to run slightly more than 8 miles in the first hour (including the warmup). A few days I ran over 8.2, which is pretty good for me. At no time did I ever reduce my speed during the first hour.

At the end of the hour, the treadmill would reset and I would continue at a slower pace -usually 7.0-7.5 for 10-15 minutes.

As a rule I lost slightly more than 2 pounds in fluid each and every time. The room temperature was a balmy 72-74, but I did use a fan to cool off.

I suffered no injuries, although once my left knee did act up a bit, and a few days later I had a diffuse ache in the other knee at night. I did develop a rather big blood-filled blister on my left little toe and some other smaller ones on other toes on my left foot. I also suffered a rubbing spot on my left ankle over the Achilles. Nothing major really.

I hope this will put me on a good base for the upcoming Boston marathon.

100K

Today was the third installment in the 100K week. I will try to run 100K this week-nine miles a day for seven days. Having said that, today I actually started doubting that I will succeed. During today's run, my left knee started acting up and 45 minutes into it, it was moderately painful. It did however, stay contained and I was able to finish 9.2 miles at a good pace.

I ran 8.2 miles for the first hour -including warmup- and then another mile at a slower speed of 7.2 miles per hour. The treadmills I am running on will only allow a 60 minute workout max. Then they either stop, or, in case of the more expensive version, they enter a mandatory "cooldown" period where speed drops to 4 mph. There are workarounds but it is kind of messy. In either case one has to briefly stop before going fast again. Not that I really want to run all that much longer at the pace I am running at. 8.2 and that is quite fast for me.