Maine Marathon Training: Week 12

Ten days in Austria felt like a month by the time I returned home. I packed so much into this vacation and walked miles every day but it was still relaxing. I eased back into running after a week off and was sure to explore areas of each city/village I ran in that I had not yet explored. My toe showed little sign of improvement until it suddenly stopped hurting toward the end of the week. The knee pain from compensating lingered but is gone now. Who ever said flip-flops were bad for your feet has obviously not walked off any injury in them with many sightseeing miles day after day.

Workouts:

Sunday – 3.5-mile easy run
Easy morning run along the Salzach River in Salzburg… in the torrential rain. I explored a narrow, winding cobblestone street just off the river that was once the primary trade route to Vienna. I was definitely hesitant with my footing for this run and definitely in pain. My knee and toe both hurt for the rest of the day as I darted from museum to palace to church in the rain.

Tuesday – 5.75-mile trail run
Hallstatt is a small village perched on a mountainside overlooking a lake. Pinned between sharp peaks and the lake I wasn’t sure how I was going to get my run in, so I headed into a valley. The road quickly turned to a trail and soon to stairs climbing the valley walls. The reward for my early morning stair workout was several spectacular waterfalls. The “run” back down did not treat my knee kindly.

Wednesday – 10-mile long run
Sunset along the Danube. I got a taste of the scenery for the river cruise the following morning. There is a bike route 90km from Melk where I was staying all the way downstream to Vienna (I think it’s a dedicated bike path most of the way).

Sunday – 8.5-mile ‘sightrunning’ tour
Vienna! This was my last day of vacation, with Monday being airport hopping across Europe and up the east coast. It was fitting that Runner’s World posted this article on Sightrunning Tours when I returned home. I used my last morning run to explore some of Vienna’s contemporary architecture. I could have headed back to the hotel after 6 miles when my knee really started hurting, but there was this building I really wanted to see…

Highlight:

Vacation: exploring, sun, history, architecture, relaxing, cake!

Looking down on Salzburg’s Old City from the fortress on the hill.

Hallstatt: View from a paddle boat. The valley behind the church steeple is the one I ran into…

Petit fours at the Vienna Opera House

The Habsburgs’ summer palace outside of Vienna’s historic center.

The Perfect Pace

What should my goal time be for my next race? What pace will get me there? How fast should I run this workout? Every runner has asked these questions and every training plan strives to provide the answers and deliver results. But will this approach test your true potential?

What if your goal is to finish a race as fast as you possibly can rather than run a prescribed time sometimes set months in advance? You quickly respond, “but I do run races as fast as I can, leaving nothing on the course.” To be countered with, “you run as fast as you can given your training.” But is this even true? How many DNFs do you have on your record? Do you really test your limits on race day? Will you ever know your true potential?

This article on Runner’s World explores some of these questions, looking at the way Kenyan runners train and race. Now I’m not advocating this method (we are recreational runners after all) but the article brings up some interesting points to ponder. Maybe I’ll try it out every once in a while just to mix things up. Aren’t you a little curious just how fast you could run?

Quote of the Day

A runner at a bagel store? Is that the athletic equivalent of the cop at the doughnut shop?

Mark Remy on Runner’s World

I had to share this, and you should read the whole post: Running After Crooks: Yes or No?  Like several of the comments, I don’t know what petite little me would do if I caught him!  I think I would just call the cops.  You?