Weekly Summary – 133 Miles in 13 runs. Great to finally be pushing the mileage again up here at altitude camp in Quito, Ecuador. Feeling good running more and got in two solid track sessions w/ the team. Putting in a great base for a big spring!

One more thing – for all my local Greater-Boston readers – if you’re an athlete looking for an exceptional sports-massage therapist who specializes in runners and injury prevention and recovery, go visit Sam Peck at SoarBody Theraputics in Davis Square (Somerville). He’s been crucial to helping me recover from my injury and I wouldn’t have been on the start line this week without him!

Don’t forget, you can follow me day to day on Instagram and Twitter (@TylerCAndrews) and my daily training log on Strava. Oh and hey if you’re reading this and don’t know about STRIVE, you should probably check ’em out. I lead groups through the mountains of Peru on a  journey of running, service learning, and adventure. If you’re interested, join us next year for the summer of 2019, when we’ll once again have programs for High School and College students, and even 10-day trips for adults and families.

 

Lunes, 7 de Enero, 2019 – 10:00am: Slept late and well and ran late. Jogged to park w/ Mar and then ran solo 3 big laps 16’30, 15’56, 15’34. Felt surprisingly decent given big day yesterday. Finished w/ half lap to the track (13km+) and then did drills, 6x strides (2’07) which felt better once I got into them, and 200m in 31.9. Jogged back long around the park and hood to round up. Total run 16km+ in 69’.

XT: Glutes, no weights

16:00: Rainy afternoon and waited a bit but had to get it done so just left. Easy run down to Carolina and 2 big laps (16’04, 15’30) and then to the track 8.5km. Stopped and did drills and then 4x strides (1’25). Finished easy home. Overall quite nice despite the rain. Total run 10km 43’.

Martes, 8 de Enero, 2019 – Sparknotes: 6x800m @ 2’23.8 avg (2’30-2’19),4’00+ rec.

07:00am: Slept well and RHR was way lower (43) so hopefully body is doing some adaptation both to tranining load and spending 24/7 at altitude. Took 100mg caff and had a cup of coffee and left the house around 07:00. Jogged to stadium and then usual warmup. Not quite as many or as explosive drills as Thursday but still a lot, probably 40’. Jogged 15’ after and then got into the workout.

Guys were doing 5-6x1200m w/ 2’30-3’00 rec. I figured I’d probably do 800s or 1000s since I was still feeling Sunday’s 40km a bit.

Started off the first one tucked in behind JL who got dropped early by Miki and Isra. Went out in 33 and then ran like 73/2’30. Oof. Decided to try to stick on Miki/Isra and did decently for the next 2x through about 400-500m but then was getting dropped. Really takes some getting used to working out up here. I felt like an elephant jumped on my back every rep at like 250m.

Still got first each rep, 2’30, 2’24, 2’23. The next 3 I actively went out a bit slower as Miki and Isra were going like 67-68 through the first 400m. Went more like 70 and still positive split but less for 2’22, 2’21, and then on the last one really went hard and went like 69/69 for 2’19.

Rest was really long for me (over 4’00) since everyone else ran an extra lap but that was fine. Good to get in some strong aerobic work and remind myself what it’s like to workout up here w/ these bubs.

Started out cool and cloudy but sun came out during the last few reps and was beautiful for our cooldown. Lovely morning.

Total run 15.5km

15:30: Ran solo around La Carolina, 2 big laps in 16’00, 15’30. Felt pretty decent after the morning session w/ an afternoon coffee. Thought about doing some 200s, so did drills and 3x strides and then did 2x200m in 32.1, 33.8 and called it as that 33.8 felt faster than the first one. No worries – no need to get greedy this early. Finished w/ easy running home. Total run 10.5km in 45’.

XT: Pedestal, 8’ w/ 5x weights, 1kg arms

Miercoles, 9 de Enero, 2019 – 09:15: Easy run down around the park and 3 big laps 16’23, 15’57, 15’43. Felt a bit tired this AM. Will take it easy. Stopped at the track at 58’ and did drills, 6x strides in 2’07 and then 200m in 31.8. Ran home easy. Total run 15km+ in 65’.

XT: Glutes (5x weights)

15:30: Really struggled to get out the door for this one. Tough day and really low energy overall. Ran very slowly around the park, 2 big laps and didn’t even look at the watch which was probably good (16’55, 16’25) and then to the track, drills and 4x strides. Jogged back easy. Total run 10km+ in 45’.

Jueves, 10 de Enero, 2019 – Sparknotes: 16x400m @ 69.3 avg, 60-70 sec rec.

07:00: Woke up early and very tired. Felt better than yesterday but not fantastic for sure. Met Scott downstairs and jogged over to the stadium where we again didn’t start until 07:30. Easy jog, drills (thankfully much lighter today than the last two sessions), and then time for 3 strides which felt pretty bad before going into the workout.

Session was 16x400m w/ 100m walk/jog rec (about 1’) and Miki said he wanted to run 68-70 which sounded great to me. Even on the first rep we were out in 32, though, and I was getting dropped. Within the first few, they were going out in 31-32 and running 64-66. Not for me today! I pretty quickly realized I’d have to be mostly on my own for this one. Still nice to have people to chase and I still got sucked out way too fast on most (33-34 on most reps) but managed to hang on all right. We took a longer rest after #8 ~2’00 and then went back into it. Miki only did 4 more and then I was on my own entirely for the last 4. Felt pretty bad the whole time but figured it was better to get through the whole thing, even if the reps were a bit slower than I’d liked.

Luckily, had Edi and Jonathan to help out w/ part of the last few reps which was nice but man felt hard. Last rep went super hard but only had 67.7.

Overall, it was a good session given how tired I was and how much shorter the rest was than the 300s I did last week (which avg’d 67.5/400m pace; avg today was 69.3). I’d definitely like to do a workout like this again and run 66-67s w/ the legs a bit fresher and maybe a tad more rest.

Cooled down short w/ Edi on the grass 2km+.

Total run 16km.

Splits:
400 m (1’09.7) 1’09.7
rec (1’04.5) 2’14.2
400 m (1’09.1) 3’23.3
rec (1’07.5) 4’30.8
400 m (1’08.5) 5’39.3
rec (1’04.6) 6’43.9
400 m (1’10.0) 7’53.9
rec (1’11.9) 9’05.8
400 m (1’07.6) 10’13.4
rec (0’58.4) 11’11.8
400 m (1’09.8) 12’21.6
rec (1’06.7) 13’28.3
400 m (1’09.9) 14’38.2
rec (1’00.0) 15’38.2
400 m (1’11.7) 16’49.9
rec (1’53.7) 18’43.6
400 m (1’08.2) 19’51.8
rec (0’58.0) 20’49.8
400 m (1’08.8) 21’58.6
rec (1’26.0) 23’24.6
400 m (1’10.4) 24’35.0
rec (1’10.8) 25’45.8
400 m (1’07.8) 26’53.6

13:00: Easy mid-day run to get in some more mileage for the day. Ran to la carolina normal route w/ 2 big laps 16’10, 15’53 and then to the track, 8.5km ~37’30. Stopped and did drills and 1 stride but then it started pouring and I had a check in my pocket to deposit, so cut over to the bank to try to deposit it – didn’t have my ID, oops – ran back to the house to get my passport in a ziplock bag, ran back to the bank, they still wouldn’t fucking accept it b/c the signature on the check didn’t match well enough w/ the one in my passport, so finally ran back. At least I got in a decent amount of mileage and the legs felt okay. Total run 15km++ in 67’.

XT: Pedestal (8’, 5x weights)

17:00: Triple today. Ran easy 1 lap (16’15) and then to the track, full drills and then 4x strides (1’24) and 200m (31.9). Felt pretty good and a lot of volume today. Total run 6.5km in 28’.

Viernes, 11 de Enero, 2019 – 11:20a: Got a very late start after another intense morning. Slept a long time though.

Sunny and nice and ran up to Metropolitano. Ran a big loop around there and actively didn’t look at my watch until I got out of the park. Expected avg to be at like 5’15/km and was pleasantly surprised to see 4’48 – under 5’00/km avg in there is very good given how incredibly hilly it is (~220m of gain from the start to where the park tops out which is reached in the first 4km).

Beautiful in there though and very good for the mind, body, and soul. Mostly running on muscle memory but took the turn back too early as I think there’s a way to continue through the forest until you get to the big field to start the descent. I’ll need to figure that out next time.

Ran down Eloy all the way to Carolina and over to the track to finish at 15km in 70. Stopped and did drills and then 6x strides (2’05) and then 200m felt very good (30.7). Jogged easy home.

Ran the last 30-40 minutes shirtless. Felt great and hopefully didn’t get too sunburned.

Total run 17km in 77’.

XT: Glutes, 5x weights

Sabado, 12 de Enero, 2019 – Sparknotes: 25km in 1h38 (3’55/km), bonking a bit.

09:45: Slept late and didn’t get started until much later than planned – very sunny and hot today!

Ran on Chaquiñan (2350m). Warmed up 3km out/back on the road nearby. Planned to do 25-30km at a quicker pace than last week’s 40km. Ideally 3’30-40/km in my mind. Started out a bit too quick <7’00 in the downhill first 2km and 18’10 through the first 5K which has a long steep uphill after the first 2.5km. From there, course is rolling up all the way to 9.5km. Turned around at 10.5km and planned to do 5km of 1’/1’ fartlek at that point. Stopped to take some water but struggled to get back into it w/ the fartlek. Legs just felt really fried and didn’t have much to work w/ in the fartlek. It’s net down from 9.5km to 2.5km but I didn’t feel like I was making much progress.

When I hit the uphill at about 18km, I was just totally zapped. Didn’t look at my watch but ran very slowly (4’24, 4’44, 4’35) up the hill back to the start. Took a few minutes to have some water and then tacked on around the 1km road section that I just found which is marked every 100m and is also quite rolling. Thought I could move well here but legs were just dead, only ran 1K under 4’00.

Finished at 25km in 1’38’00 (3’55 avg which is slower than I ran for 40km in Quito last week).

Cooled down 2km very slow to get to 30K for the morning.

NB: Took only water and 1 caffeinated gel at about 60’.

15:15: Clockwork double around La Carolina. Felt pretty decent after the morning. 15’53, 15’17 for two big laps and then to the track, very light drills as I was tight on time and 4x strides (1’24). Easy home. Total run 10km in 42’30.

Domingo, 13 de Enero, 2019 – 08:30am: Up early for adventure day to Iliniza Norte as it was Mariana’s last day here and I’d treat it like a back-to-back long run. Beautiful day w/ a fun crew. Got a ride up to the parking lot at La Virgen and then made it up to the refugio and up the ridge no problem. Good weather on the ascent. Some clouds but no rain or snow. Pasos were pretty easy to negotiate but took some of the group quite a while. Made it to the summit w/ everyone around 1p and then descended down fairly quickly. Took two nasty falls, one which banged up my right outer ankle bone pretty good and the other which scraped up my left elbow. Ouch! Tore the shit out of my big poofy too. Got a bit wet in hail/rain on the way down the arena but not too bad. Made it back to the car by about 15:15. About 4h00 of moving time.