Since

I haven't really done much running at all since Javelina. I guess it has still been less than a month and looking at the good old log, my trend is pretty similar to what I did after Headlands just a little less. For the record, here are my so-called recovery weeks.

Week 1 (10/29-11/04)
No running at all until Friday when I just couldn't take it anymore
Fri:
3 easy miles on the treadmill which left my legs feeling heavy
Sat:
Decided to ride my mountain bike up Mission Peak. Catra had organized a 12-hour event doing loops up at the peak. I obviously wasn't up for much running, but I thought it would be good to get out and do something. Mind you, I haven't done any real mountain biking in years and Mission Peak really isn't the place to do it one week after a 100-mile run. I took it as easy as possible, but even granny gear up the steepest hill pretty much puts you in the anaerobic zone. As an ultra-runner, I rarely peg my heart rate. However, half-way up I was seriously red-lined. I made it past the hardest hill, but had to stop and get off my bike as my back locked up, I got dizzy, nauseous, etc. I was sitting on the side of the trail when Catra and a couple guys came down just above me at a trail intersection. Catra continued on towards Horse Heaven and the guys went down the trail. I managed to eventually get myself up and back on the bike. I rode over and caught Catra to say hi. I told her I would meet her back at Eagle Camp as she headed up the single track. The rest of the ride was much less exciting. I waited at the camp and met Mylinh coming in for one of her loops and then Joe coming in before Catra. I ran a couple of loops with Joe and Catra. Since it was the end of their long day the pace was nice and easy. At the end Martin came back up to get his stuff. He was one of the guys I had seen going down the hill earlier. After some nice conversation and a photo op, I headed off. I met Jerry down the hill before finally heading home. I survived, but had a renewed respect for my old mountain biking training. It might not be a good idea to get my bike fully tuned up and add this in for some cross training.
Sun:
Joined my wife at the gym Sunday night for 3.5 miles on the treadmill. It was back at my normal pace and my legs felt pretty good.

Week 2 (11/05-11/11)
Tired legs and a desire to baby my feet meant I took Monday and Tuesday off to rest.
Wed:
Went to the Foot Solutions to talk to my shoe guy about some new inserts and the possibility of eventually being fitted for orthotics. After examinging my feet, gait and shoes, he put me in some Lynco insoles which instantly felt better than others I had tried in past. He also said that if I decided to go with customs he would apply the price of these towards the cost of the custom orthotics. I ran an easy 3.5 miles in the new inserts and they felt pretty good. I am going to try them for a while and decide after my first race in them if I want get fitted for customs. The advantage of having someone local to work with is that he can help me to adjust the orthotics over a period of time.
Thu:
Headed to the gym and did an hour (7.4 mi) on the 'mill at a good pace upping the speed with each mile. This was a good test for the new inserts. Both them and my legs felt pretty good.
Sat:
Lots of errands to take care of and no long run planned so I headed to the gym again in the evening. I decided to put some work on my legs and do a run up Mission Peak on Sunday. I started with 2 easy treadmill miles. I then hit the weights and ran my legs through the paces on a number of different machines working hips, thighs, hams and all. I then did a little over a 1/2 hour on the stationary bike and returned to the treadmill for some intervals. I did 5 repeats of 1/2-mile with 1/4-mile jogs in between. The pace wasn't crazy, but I think the final one was in the low 6s. By the end of the whole routine, I definitely felt "worked".
Sun:
Beat had mailed me after Javelina about wanting to come over to Mission Peak for some hill work. We agreed to do a run on Sunday afternoon. With both of us feeling pretty wiped, he from his Saturday run and me from my gym workout, we decided to just do the standard run up the main trail then around back to the peak. Going up the main trail means there is little respite from the hills for the first couple of miles. I was surprised at how good my legs felt going up while Beat was struggling after being surprised at how hard his run at Rancho San Antonio felt the day before. However, we actually made good time hitting the peak in just over an hour. Beat completed the role reversal where I felt good going up, he kicked my but going down. The long sustained downhill definitely tested my new insoles which seemed to get pretty hot on the heals as I took the fire road at speed. We came down in half the time we went up and then headed out for some lunch. We both agreed to do it again sometime and maybe do some hill repeats in prep for Coyote Two Moons in March. I realized later that this was the first time I had ever planned a training run with another person. I do almost all my running alone and generally like it that way, but it was nice to meet up with someone outside of a race for a change.

Week 3 (11/12-11/18)
Rested on Monday as the legs were toast.
Tue:
Ran 8 miles at lunch on the paved Guadalupe River Trail near work. Pace felt good, it was warmer than I expected, but I enjoyed getting a lunchtime run in as it had been a while.
Wed:
Busy, no run.
Thu:
Got in a nice 7 miler at home on one of my normal road routes with a little bit of hill.
Fri:
Had the day off work as my wife's old roommate was flying in from out of town. I was going to pick her up at the airport and the three of us head down to Monterey. I decided to hit Mission Peak in the morning as I didn't know how much running I would be able to get in on the weekend. 9.8 miles using the Valley View Trail and then doing an extra little loop along the back side before heading up to the peak and back. I actually forced myself to do some walking thus time which I almost never do in my training runs. Basically, any of the steep hills where I thought that I might be able to power-hike faster than my running pace, I did. I actually ended up really pushing it on some of these hills and felt like I got at least as much of a workout as if I had run the whole thing. I am going to add more walking to my routines in general. I have been checking out Paul DeWitt's blog and have been impressed by how much he integrates walking into his training. If an elite dude like that thinks that walking is important then who am I to argue! It was a good run as a whole and at a little under 2 hours the longest I have done since Javelina.
Sat:
I thought that maybe I would get up early and run along the coast as there was a nice trail just a few blocks from our B&B. I failed to get it done, though. OK, truth be told, a bit of overindulgence on Friday night left me in no condition to run. Oh well, the rest of the weekend was fun and it was good to rest my legs and just have fun walking around in Carmel on Saturday and then San Francisco on Sunday.

Week 4 (11/19-11/25)
Well, here we are. My plans are pretty fluid this week. I have the Quad Dipsea on Saturday as my last race of the year. It should be fun and I have no expectations. I have very little planned this week in terms of running as I mainly want to feel like my feet and legs are in good condition before taking on the 9200+ft of wild and woolly hills.
Mon:
Hit the treadmill for a very easy couple miles followed by some walking at a 15% grade all while watching Monday Night Football.
Tue:
Planning about 7 flat miles and maybe a Yoga workout tonight.
Wed:
Play it by ear. I should probably restrain myself from hitting any hills, but I do have the afternoon off.
Thu-Fri:
No running. We don't really celebrate Thanksgiving these days so it will be nice and low key couple of days. Spend time with my wife while the kids visit their grandmother. Maybe taking in a movie. Sleep.
Sat:
Race.
Sun:
Rest

That's it. After the Quad I am going to do some serious thinking about my 2008 calendar and then decide what I will plan for training in December. I guess a lot of it plans on what happens on the 1st.