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Chronicles of a fish: the days of surf and turf
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LSR
It's hot (86 degrees), it's sunny (not a cloud in the sky), and it's windy ('bout blew me away!). Oh, and there were too many happy people out on the Greenway enjoying themselves and shopping at the farmer's market who were more than eager to stop me to chat with them. Ugh! Some I just smiled and waved at, but there were two...um, nope three, that I had to stop otherwise it would have been quite rude. One of them was Mrs. Dugans who I have referred to on this log before. She's the elder widow who wears way too much red lipstick, walks her very sweet dog every day, and has silly little names she calls me depending on where she sees me and what she remembers at that time. She makes me smile, and she is always so excited to see me.
But the run.....the run. Well, it was fair. I decided to copy a run Meno did about a week and a half ago but shorten it just a smidge to bring the mileage down to closer to what my plan had me doing today. I structured it as follows: 1 mile warmup, 5 miles at MP, .25 recovery, 4 miles at MP, .25 recovery, 3 miles at MP, 1 mile cool down. The first half of this run was fine - felt good, but the second half was littered with interruptions (don't these peeps know I have a marathon in two weeks??!!) and too much effort on my part to keep pace. I grew so tired of all the people by the end of 13.5 miles that I brought it home and did my cool down in the field.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about this run was that I structured this run as a "workout" on my Garmin - I have never done that before and wasn't sure it would even work for me, but it did....all except I goofed on the last cool down mile. I may not have hit the right button because it recorded the last scheduled mile while I was driving home - 1 mile in 4:04! So I'll just back that out and recalculate. And the one thing I'm not sure I liked was that I normally watch my average pace in 1 mile increments while I run, but this workout gave me the average pace over the set distance (5 miles, .25 miles, 4 miles, etc...) instead. Not sure I liked that.
Per Garmin:
1 mile warm up - 8:31 min/mile
5 miles at MP - 7:52 min/mile
.25 recovery - 8:45 min/mile
4 miles at MP - 7:50 min/mile
.25 miles recovery - 9:12 min/mile
3 miles at MP - 7:46 min/mile
.73 miles cool down - 9:47 min/mile
14.2 miles in 1:54:10 for an average pace of 8:02 min/mile.
I still don't feel like I've had a quality LSR this marathon training cycle, but it's pretty much a done deal. Two weeks and counting. Woo hoo.....0 -
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Swim
Just an easy 3k in the sun while the heater kicked on and off. I imagine the electric bill will be something else this month, but I've only got a few weeks to go until the heater will no longer keep up with the thermostat and I am forced to shut my aquatic paradise down.
(will make a sincere effort to update SBR totals later tonight....:o)0 -
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Hi DD:)
Just popping on to wish you luck over the next 2 weeks (less now;)) with taper madness... You are in fantastic shape and are sure to smash your marathon PB. Boston won't know what hit it next April:D
BTW... did I see you on Banner's log asking about Achilles? Taper madness setting in ? 0 -
interested wrote: »there's always options c) and d)
c) dig out the wetsuit
d) HTFU and wear two swim caps
Well, if I go with either of these options and if it gets below freezing for enough days in a row, then perhaps I can finally break out my ice skates!!Marthastew wrote: »Hi DD:)
Just popping on to wish you luck over the next 2 weeks (less now;)) with taper madness... You are in fantastic shape and are sure to smash your marathon PB. Boston won't know what hit it next April:D
BTW... did I see you on Banner's log asking about Achilles? Taper madness setting in ?
Ah, thanks O. I'm not convinced I'm ready for this 26.2 mile downhill toss, but if nothing else it will be good experience for me to run at a net loss in elevation - not to mention the cruel uphills at the end. The achilles is real....what might be taper madness though is the feeling of fatigue and the fact that all I want to do is sleep. I've also got a cold that's been festering for a week now (or do I???) but is only simmering under the surface and won't run its course. UGH!! After months of not drinking any alcohol at all (not a drop!), I was so miseralbe with myself Saturday night that I popped a cork and dove in for a few glasses and slept like a baby. I've sworn off all crap food until after the marathon, added a daily vitamin to the iron I already take, and will try to get closer to 8 hours of sleep each night. Taper madness sucks.0 -
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Recovery Run
Just an easy filed trot to test drive the new Asics Gel-Kayano 18s. Pretty cushy....great look.....feet were smiling.
Legs were a little reluctant at first, but it's always reassuring when they settle down and get to their happy place and start ticking over nicely. Tonight, the definition of nicely was s-l-o-w. Really slow. My Garmin didn't pick up satellites until about a mile into the run, but the average for the last 3+ miles was 9:44 min/mile. It was lovely.
Total mileage for the virgin voyage in my new runners was 4.2-ish miles.
Swim
A quick dip in the pool because I could. 1,000 yards as the heater was doing its job.0 -
The Hill From Hell, Part IV - The Short Story
I felt the need to do my "3 miles uphill and 3 miles downhill for a total elevation gain and loss of 958 feet" session tonight, so up to the mountian I went....and with a bottle of water in my left hand and a bottle of mace in my right, off I trudged to remind my legs what it will be doing in less than 11 days.
The first mile up was so-so - it was my warmup so I took it easy and minded my form. The second mile up felt good - I was warmed up and kept a steady pace. Third mile up was a bit tough - I was getting tired so I had to keep reminding myself to relax and breathe easy.
I always reward myself with a little break to stretch, hydrate and enjoy the view when I get to the top, and tonight was no exception as it was another gorgeous evening to be on Skyline Drive. As I was sitting on the stone wall with the breeze cooling me off, my park law enforcement officer friend spotted me and stopped to have a chat....but he was in no hurry to get back to work.....and my Garmin was alerting me it was going to shut off, not just once, but at least three times.....and I had given hubby an estimate of when I'd be home, and now that arrival time home was in jeopardy and I really had to torpedo myself down that mountain. A polite "see ya later" and I was off.
The downhill....the downhill....the lovely downhill. I pushed this and it felt good overall. I paid attention to my stide, and how I push off with my feet....and I stayed relaxed and tried to have gravity work as much as I could milk it for. There was a little traffic, so I had to slow down at times and move off the road, but even with that I am happy with my downhill splits. Oh, if only I could find a point to point downhill 5k to potentially rack up a sub 20 PB!!
Per Garmin:
6.6 miles in 55:51.53 for an average pace of 8:28 min/mile.
Splits as follows:
Uphill: 10:23, 10:08, 10:19
Flat at the top: 2:42.33 (8:13 pace)
Downhill: 6:39, 6:28, 6:18
Cool down: 2:52 (~10:35 pace)0 -
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Recovery Run
Off with the Garmin. That's right, I left that devil in disguise sitting on the coffee table while I treated myself to a run in the field without that old ball and chain shaming me into running faster or slower as the moment may have it. It was supposed to be an easy trot anyway, so why not liberate myself by shedding the watch and enjoying a little unfettered freedom?
~4.2 miles as I watched an electrical storm on either side of me converge creating a dramatic backdrop and soundtrack for my run. (Felt like I was in an action movie!) I had originally intended on a short swim after the run, but that idea went out the window as the crescendo of thunder, lightening, rain and wind convinced me to head indoors.0 -
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Yip - that's a hell of a dream! If it wasn't for the infamous and widely recognised taper madness, there'd be men in white coats coming for you
I know...and the dream was SO vivid! And the funny thing is, I had a dream with the same type of indoor/store section in it during the last marathon's taper madness!
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Last Long-ish Run Of This Training Cycle!!!!
Woo hoo! I'm actually ready for this training plan to be given its last rites. It's been a good plan and has served me well, but it's time to bid it farewell and give it a proper burial. The plan called for 8 to 10 miles at marathon pace, but because my boredom with this plan has caused my eye to wander to the running forum and lurk on some of their threads and steal a few of their ideas (hi Krusty, Meno, CL!), I decided to copy what Claralara did one week ago - figured how could I go wrong since I am exactly one week behind her in training? Her plan was to do 12 miles easy max, but 60 minutes was sufficient - she did 8.2 miles. I liked the thought of slowing down this run from MP pace to easy because I really wanted to do a hilly run on our country roads due to the gorgeous factor of today - it's perfect weather-wise here!!! I checked what "easy" is for my ability, and McMillan computed 8-9 minute miles. I can do that!
Off to Lake Arrowhead I went.....with my dodgy tummy. It was okay when I left the house, but when I arrived at the lake it was doing flips and causing me some concern. A quick potty break at the lake's facilities, then I decided to just go for it. I knew there were plenty of woods I'd be passing on my way in case of an emergency, so no worries.
Mile 1 - Lots of small ups and downs, but it got me good and warmed up. In my mind I had settled on not pushing too much and keeping an 8:30 pace so I was a little surprised to see that I was a bit faster than that in this first mile, but I also knew I had plenty of uphills yet to face that would slow me down. (8:07 min/mile)
Mile 2 - Slightly downhill but mainly flat so the pace was faster than I intended but I was not pushing at all. This was when I decided I would run not by the time on my watch, but rather by perceived effort. (7:43 min/mile)
Miles 3 and 4 - This section is a long, slow drag uphill....and my pace definitely shows it. I tried to keep the effort even knowing the pace would naturally drop, and I also worked on my arm pump (which no doubt is my friend!). (8:10, 8:31 min/mile)
Miles 5 and 6 - Tummy was giving me a fit. I tried to negotiate with it knowing that I was less than 2 miles from the lake, but it was having none of that so I found a nice wooded area to pop into (thanks Griffin for your "leaf identification" tips! ). I could hear the church bells from the church up the road as I trudged though the brush and thorny vines, and those bells somehow made this moment a little more special. Back on the road with a few cuts and scratches from those thorny vines, but none the worse for wear as I had some swift uphill to face followed by some steep downhill. (7:47, 7:47 min/mile)
Miles 7 and 8 - Stopped for a quick water and jelly bean break, and then off I went to backtrack the last two miles I had just done. This time it was a steep uphill on mile 7, so I kept the body relaxed, arms pumping, and effort steady while the pace plummeted. I reached the top and gave it a U turn to propel myself down the hill....and then I just enjoyed the trip down by trying to be as efficient with my energy as I could be. (8:53, 7:13 min/mile)
In the end, this was a solid run for me. Yes, only 8 miles, but I never pushed my limits. I worked on form and running on steady effort, not steady pace, but the result was a good overall average pace - better, actually, than I had intended. I don't really know if this run looks more like CL's run or my training plan's run, but either way I will own it. I will post the Garmin info as an edit later when I get to my computer, but for now....
Per Garmin:
8.14 miles in 1:05:22 for an average pace of 8:02 min/mile.
Splits:
8:07, 7:43, 8:10, 8:31, 7:47, 7:47, 8:53, 7:13, 1:07 (cool down 8:09 pace)
Edit - Garmin info...
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2281608640 -
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getting close now, Berlin is over so you're next;)..
how is the Taper madness, any more wonderfully weird dreams??:D
No more dreams....just mulling over the endurance factor and the fact that I never had a quality 20 mile run this training go 'round. It is what it is, and my performance will surely show any weaknesses, but I will learn what I need to learn and apply that for Boston. It's all good!!!!! 0 -
Ugh!! Been eating SO healthy as a lead up to the marathon and have exhibited exemplary self-control (pats self on back), but today there is a sheet of iced brownies and a plate of pina colada cup cakes (looking quite festive, mind you!) here at work....and I find myself having a discussion with myself about the merits of packing on a few pounds before this net elevation loss marathon and how the extra weight will benefit my time because of the gravity pull thingy. :rolleyes: 0
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Misty Rainy Run
Down to the Greenway after work to get this last Monday-before-the-big-day run done.....plan was to go 2 miles easy, 2 miles at a spiffy pace, 2 miles easy. Dark, damp and dreary day here, but this had to be done properly so that meant the misty rain would not sway me from nailing this one in the elements even though I had packed my new runners, and I hate getting new runners wet!!!! :mad:
My plan was to keep the easy pace around 8:30 and spiffy pace around 7:30....and I did an "okay" job with the paces. Easy felt easy....and on the second easy mile I decided to slowly speed up the pace to avoid a blast-off on mile three. Spiffy miles felt good, but I had to slow things down when I realized I was at a 6:40 pace about 1/4 mile into the first spiffy mile. Worked on arms...I still fall back into bad habits if I don't actively think about form. Cool down easy miles were a breeze. Lovely.
Per Garmin:
6.13 miles in 49:13.59 for an average pace of 8:01 min/mile.
Splits:
8:35, 8:08, 7:16, 7:12, 8:27, 8:23, 1:09 (8:35 pace)
The healthy diet is intact....no brownies nor cupcakes were consumed today. Instead, it was an apple that I settled on for my afternoon snack. Boring.... 0 -
The healthy diet is intact....no brownies nor cupcakes were consumed today. Instead, it was an apple that I settled on for my afternoon snack. Boring....
Hopefully a crumb of brownie or cupcake could sit temporarily under a lone candle as you hum 'Happy Birthday to me' quietly today ? :pac:0 -
interested wrote: »Hopefully a crumb of brownie or cupcake could sit temporarily under a lone candle as you hum 'Happy Birthday to me' quietly today ? :pac:
I am currently in negotiations about that very possibility..... 0 -
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