My little ones started school this week, and I’m in charge of the morning routine. With my wife leaving for work early, I oversee getting them up, fed, and dropped off each day. It’s always a bit stressful trying to undo the bad habits that three months of sleeping in can cause. It also means my early runs have to start even earlier.
This time of year also marks the beginning of hunting season on the trail I usually run. I completely understand why they’re out there; we’ve seen so many deer, not just in the trails, but lying along the side of the roads. It limits when and where we can go, which is a bit of a downer. On Friday, the official start, my friend and I headed out at 5 am with the goal of completing our long run so we could enjoy a more relaxed Saturday morning. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived at our usual route, we spotted the cars of eager hunters awaiting the first signs of daylight.
This week might be the last week for a bit with four trail runs in it. I managed to hit 45 miles, taking my Hoka Speedgoat 5’s, Hoka Mafate Speed 2’s, Diadora Sestriere XT’s, and Hoka Stinson 7’s out for some nice, easy miles. I had three runs over 10 miles on the trail and also three runs that started at 5 am, which will probably become a four-day-a-week routine. Setting my coffee maker for 3:50 am never gets easier or less depressing, but it sure beats not running.
I’m off to Portugal in a few weeks, and I want to ramp up my weekly mileage before I go. My training partner and I are considering a solo 50-mile trail run in November, so it’ll be good to start building a stronger base. This week, I might aim for six runs and start pushing towards 50+ miles a week until my trip. I’m enjoying these longer distances, but I’m also looking forward to getting back to some faster track workouts later this year. Another week in the log, thanks for reading.
