avondale training journal, starting Dec. 2018 (comments welcome)

[garneska]

I know august is busy but i felt it was the best option for GTTS road to be open and be able to hike. We tried to get reservations for July but everything was sold out. We are staying in the park so that will help with the timed entry (won't need it since i have hotel reservations). I am still worried about parking. Interesting on Highline because I am slightly less interested in it. I am going to take a look at the pics.

I was considering Siyeh Bend. I think it depends how trained up i can be for that. I also have on my list Cracker Lake.

We have not really hiked since my knee issue. I am cleared to hike but with my mom we can only hike on Sundays. Honestly by Sunday we just want to rest. We know we will have to train for hiking so if we don't start soon we definitely need to start after Marathon weekend. DH and I are doing the half. However Jan to Aug should be plenty of time. I can hike North Georgia so i can get some elevation.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Honestly the Highline Trail was a bit of a disappointment. The exposure and being on the cliff edge is fantastic, especially since it's not really THAT dangerous.

It FELT scary at the time when we did it. I was best friends with the cable for a bit

 

[avondale]

I know august is busy but i felt it was the best option for GTTS road to be open and be able to hike. We tried to get reservations for July but everything was sold out. We are staying in the park so that will help with the timed entry (won't need it since i have hotel reservations). I am still worried about parking. Interesting on Highline because I am slightly less interested in it. I am going to take a look at the pics.

I was considering Siyeh Bend. I think it depends how trained up i can be for that. I also have on my list Cracker Lake.

We have not really hiked since my knee issue. I am cleared to hike but with my mom we can only hike on Sundays. Honestly by Sunday we just want to rest. We know we will have to train for hiking so if we don't start soon we definitely need to start after Marathon weekend. DH and I are doing the half. However Jan to Aug should be plenty of time. I can hike North Georgia so i can get some elevation.

Yeah, parking at the various trailheads can fill up really fast. But, honestly, you need to start hikes really early anyway so that you can be off the trails by ~1pm to avoid summer thunderstorms.

Training is good, but hiking is not a race, so as long as you're willing to be slow, you can do a lot of it with less preparation. I did Glacier before my knee issues, but I don't recall it being the sort of trails with a lot of "giant steps" - just uphill slopes. I find that much easier on the knees.

I'm pretty sure the Siyeh Bend hike we did, we parked at the trailhead and hiked over the pass and ended on Going to the Sun Road at a bus stop, and then we took the park bus back to our car. It really was a pretty spectacular hike.

We didn't do Cracker Lake - don't remember if there was a specific reason, or just that it didn't look better to us than some other hikes/lakes.

 

[avondale]

Week of Sep. 1 - 7, 2025
For the fall, I made a 14-week training plan for the Tuckahoe 25k on Nov. 22, 2025; this was week 3. This is a relatively local race on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It's supposed to be relatively flat. I plan to try to improve my speed a bit, since this race should not be overly challenging in terms of distance, vert, or technicality. I'm going to continue to run only 4 days per week and do a hike on one weekend day like I did this summer, so we'll see how that seems to affect my training, as well.

Monday

• After breakfast: hiking Great Falls, VA from Difficult Run
  • time: 2:24:53
  • distance: 4.18 mi
  • average pace: 34:42
  • elevation gain: 407 ft (corrected)
  • comments: Did this with two tennis friends - we try to get together and hike occasionally. Unfortunately the dark-haired friend (67 yo) is moving to NYC with family, so we probably won't be seeing much more of her. The light-haired friend is 79 yo (!!) and amazingly is still doing these hikes with us. We definitely took it slow because she struggles more with the ascents, but she chugged right along. Five years ago, she would have been leading the pack, but she's had some health problems. I hope I can still be as active as she is when I get to be her age.
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• Before dinner:
  • Tempo run - 18 min easy + 10 min tempo + 18 min easy
    • T+D 132, 2.5% effect, T 78 F
    • time: 46:02
    • distance: 3.95 mi
    • tempo split: 9:53
    • elevation gain: 95 ft (corrected)
    • route: Sligo Creek Trail
    • comments: This route was paved, so it was not a trail run.
    • comments: Happy with my tempo pace, especially with the hike in the morning.

Tuesday - first day of classes for the semester!!!

• Before breakfast: Unilateral strength workout
  • 4 x 6 each leg - straight leg reverse lunges with 20-lb vest + 20 lb
  • 4 x 6 each leg - one-leg hamstring curl with 23-lb band
  • 4 x 6 each leg - heel taps from low step with 20-lb vest + 10 lb
  • 4 x 6 each leg - hip airplanes with 20 lb\
• After work:
  • 50 min easy on trail
    • T+D 126, 2% effect, T 75 F
    • time: 50:04
    • distance: 3.85 mi
    • average pace: 13:01 (GAP ave pace: 12:58)
    • splits: 13:19, 12:57, 12:51, 12:57
    • ave HR: 130 BPM - within my target range
    • elevation gain: 243 ft (corrected)
    • route: Northwest Branch Trail
    • comments: Somehow I always have a really hard time getting started on this trail - always very slow.

Wednesday

• Before breakfast: Upper body strength
  • Superset
    • 3 x 5 - triceps push-ups with 20-lb vest
    • 3 x 5 - dumbbell reverse-grip rows with 26.25 lb per arm
    • 3 x 5 - dumbbell pull-overs with 35 lb
  • Superset
    • 3 x 1 - unassisted chin-ups
    • 3 x 5 - front raises with 15 lb per arm
    • 3 x 5 - dumbbell reverse flyes with 15 lb per arm
    • 3 x 5 - deep swimmer's press with 15 lb per arm
• After work: walk on treadmill
  • time: 1:27:54
  • distance: 5.1 mi
  • average pace: 17:14
  • incline: 0%

Thursday

• Before breakfast:
  • Core workout
    • 90-sec plank with 20-lb vest
    • 20 starfish
    • 20 dead bugs
    • 20 bird dogs
    • 20 each side flutter kicks
    • 20 bicycle crunches with hold
    • 5 10-sec hollow-body holds
    • 2 30-sec side planks
    • 20 double leg lift/lowers
  • Foam rolling and stretching
• After work: walk on treadmill
  • time: 1:27:13
  • distance: 5.1 mi
  • average pace: 17:06
  • incline: 0%

Friday

• Before breakfast: Workout 2
  • 3 x 5 - heels-elevated suitcase squats with 55 lb + 20-lb vest
  • superset
    • 3 x 5 each arm - one-arm rows on bench with 31.25 lb
    • 3 x 5 - wide push-ups with 20-lb vest
  • 3 x 5 each leg - bench step-up-and-overs with 20-lb vest
  • superset
    • 3 x 5 - parallel-bar dips
    • 3 x 5 - supermans with 5-s hold
• After work:
  • 40 min easy
    • T+D 155, 5.5% effect, T 86 F
    • time: 40:01
    • distance: 3.38 mi
    • average pace: 11:51 (GAP ave pace: 11:53)
    • splits: 12:09, 11:52, 11:31, 11:52
    • ave HR: 135 BPM - within my target range
    • elevation gain: 100 ft (corrected)
    • route: Sligo Creek Trail
    • comments: This route was paved, so it was not a trail run.
    • comments: This was an extra run because my schedule was weird this week, and I needed a quick activity with a lot of steps.
    • comments: The heat and humidity came back! But fortunately only for a few days.

Saturday

• Before breakfast:
  • Hill repeat HIIT -- 13min easy + 3 x [7 x (20sec sprint uphill + 20sec walk downhill) + 4min walk downhill]
    • T+D 148, 4.5% effect, T 77 F
    • time: 40:01
    • distance: 2.85 m
    • repeat splits: 7:46, 8:42, 8:58, 9:05, 9:24, 10:09, 9:17, 8:17, 8:52, 9:43, 8:57, 9:14, 9:31, 10:35, 8:33, 9:07, 9:37, 9:09, 9:34, 9:44, 10:08i
    • elevation gain: 200 ft (corrected)
    • route: neighborhood loop 1
• Before dinner:
  • Walk outside
    • time: 38:77
    • distance: 2.09 mi
    • comments: I had an ice cream social for lunch and had way too much ice cream to run afterward, LOL. I wanted to do a long walk outside, but thunderstorms chased us inside.
  • Walk on treadmill
    • time: 44:34
    • distance: 2.58 mi
    • average pace: 17:16
    • incline: 0%

Sunday

• After breakfast: 2-hr tennis doubles round-robin
• Before dinner:
  • 90 min LR on trail
    • T+D 124, 1.5% effect, T 74 F
    • time: 1:30:01
    • distance: 6.74 mi
    • average pace: 13:21 (GAP ave pace: 13:05)
    • splits: 13:15, 12:53, 13:59, 14:18, 13:01, 13:10, 12:38
    • ave HR: 139 BPM - within my target range
    • elevation gain: 401 ft (corrected)
    • route: Valley Trail, Rock Creek National Park
    • comments: I was happy this went as well as it did because my legs felt pretty beaten up after the tennis, and I only had fewer than 3 hours of turn-around. It helped that it was so much cooler and less humid than Friday and Saturday.

Health

I had dry needling on Thursday after work. The previous dry needling was in my left glute. This time, the physical therapist said that where I was indicating the problem was was more in my upper hamstring tendon. Honestly, that doesn't surprise me - I've always thought it was probably a tendon issue. Tendons can't be dry needled, so she did the muscle nearby. We'll see if it helps. She gave me some exercises to try to help with it - more unilateral work.