My Week in Training
April 21-27, 2025
The Big Picture
We’re back for another week of training and as always, it’s important to take stock of where we are, where we’re going, and if we’re on the right path.
Back when I started writing this weekly training logs, I set out with the idea of taking a big idea of how I wanted to train and break the months into weekly blocks as a way to track progress and judge the efficacy of my training.
The big initial goal was to stack running, big time. I’m running a backyard ultra in September and have aimed all my training to have a great performance in the late summer.
This week I felt the effects of the past two months showing up big, I had a great week of training. Let’s break it down together.
The Aim
I’ve got a mini target in the spring, a big training day that’s still a secret. I wanted to hit this week aimed at potentially going after this big day, but I felt all my work stacking together.
Namely running hard 4 days in a row and feeling great during and after each run. I then used 3 days in a row to ease off running and focus on strength and mobility. This was a great split, one I’ve now experimented with a few times in the past month.
This is a BIG shift in my training philosophy, I used to never run back to back days as recently as last spring!
Being able to bang out 4 different runs, 4 days in a row, and be able to hit a long run AGAIN during the week is proof positive my training is aiming me in the right place.
The Execution
I want to give a quick 8 day snapshot here rather than breaking down each day.
It starts with last Sunday’s long run, a nice 11 mile trail run with low expectation. This was the start of the 4 day run streak.
Monday I followed this up with a quick run down to the beach and back. This was a road run. I’m enjoying mixing up trail and road running as a way to move my legs differently in different running terrains. Having different surfaces and running styles is keeping my legs fresh and helping me get out each day with good energy and results.
The next day I hit a winding technical trail run and felt good getting back on my feet for a third day in a row. The big test was Wednesday, beach sprints!
How would I be able to hold up with some high intensity speed work? The answer was great. I had my best barefoot beach spring session yet, and finished it off with a good cold dip into PURE Lake Michigan.
3 days of lower body targeted work with my steel club, steel mace, and bodyweight calisthenics primed me to get back out yesterday and smash a trail half marathon in an easy effort. Legs were good, not great, but 5 days of running in 8 totaling 40 miles, shouldn’t feel fantastic either.
The real proof of the training is that I’m ready to go again today, it’s supposed to be warm and summer like and I’m going to run back down to the beach with a quick pace.
Another good sign in training, if you want to repeat the same protocol it means you at least had fun doing it. And fun is a BIG TIME signal in training I never ignore.
The Projection
This week is more of the same. I’d like to try that same 4 running days in a row schedule with 3 offs days for strength and mobility, capped by a long run on the weekend. So it seems I’m really operating on 8 day training blocks at this point of the training.
Very neat to see this emerge. I’m not in a rush to push too much harder right now, I’d like to stay here and consolidate some gains before taking on this big challenge in the next two to three weeks. Then it’s a well deserved rest period until we start going STRAIGHT at the September race.
The Takeaway
Training should FLOW in a dynamic relationship between performance, capability, challenge, and opportunity.
Some weeks you have the chance to stack, to set a routine, stick to it, and then play it out again.
Other times you simply cobble together what you can and make do with what you get.
This week I’m on solo dad duty and always prioritize taking care of my kids, if that means cutting back on a run or swapping in a 20 minute jump rope session for a 45 minute trail run, so be it. I’ll adapt.
What’s most important is having a solid foundation of understanding about how you need to train in order to achieve your goals. There are a million ways to get it done.
This is why it’s crucial to train from your heart on out.
You don’t mind getting creative.
You don’t fear adversity in your schedule.
You relish the opportunity to make it happen no matter what.
Training is EXCITING. It’s a PART OF YOU. It IS YOU.
That’s what I’m learning most from documenting my training each week.
It’s my truth, and it’s always found in the training.