Monday, December 13, 2010

This week in running

Monday 12/6 (6.25mi 49min, 7:52/mi) I hit The Machine at work for intervals. I ran a slow mile warm-up and then peeled off 6 x 800 @ 2:52 with 400 slow jog between. It got pretty hard to hold the pace by repeat #4. Good workout.

Tuesday 12/7 (5.45mi, 40min, 7:20/mi) Rather than take an easy recovery day I thought I'd try to wear myself out a little more. I Ran a hard tempo run out to the Bridle Trails and back. I held a good pace and really felt it. My Hamstrings were quite sore after the run. I embraced reality and decided to skip the 10K on Saturday. I'll have to try for a sub-40 next year. I'm just not in the shape I want to be in to keep that kind of pace.

Wednesday 12/8 (5.45mi, 45min, 8:20/mi) Time for recovery. I ran an easy pace out to Grass Lawn Park for two miles around the track barefoot. I felt pretty good on my feet but my knee has been sore lately.

Thursday 12/9 (2.0mi, 17min, 8:30/mi) I cross trained to give my knee a break and then after an hour of cardio and strength I couldn't resist and ran 2 "cool down" miles on the treadmill.

Friday 12/10 (14.0mi, 2h 4min, 8:54/mi) I ran a long hill repeat workout at lunch, running two one-mile-long hill repeats near work at a hard gasping-for-breath effort. It went pretty well. After work I had some time so I went for night-time loop around the Bridle Trails. I didn't prepare for two runs so I had to put on my sweaty clothes that I'd worn at lunch, which is never pleasant. The trails were dark and muddy. I had a flashlight and a headlight but neither were very bright. I need to get something brighter for night runs. It was fun running in the dark but the mud slowed me down as I tried to stay to the sides of the trail and avoid the deep stuff. My socks stayed dry despite stepping in puddle after puddle.  They didn't feel even the slightest bit wet until about 6 miles. I have to hand it to Drymax, they make some great socks. Their "Trail Running" socks are my new favorites, they're replacing all of the Wrightsocks that I've been running in for the last 12 years.  Also, while I'm handing out praise, I'm still loving my New Balance MT101 shoes. They're light but definitely not flimsy, have a great ground feel, and have just enough tread for light trails.

Sunday 12/12 (7.7mi, 59.5min, 7:45/mi) With an all-day Christmyth shopping trip planned for the bulk of the day, I had to get out early. I was up and dressed by 8am but there was the small matter of it raining cats and dogs outside. I really debated calling the run off and staying warm inside instead. I talked myself into running and headed out in the rain. The first 10 minutes were pure annoyance with the rain until my body warmed up and I was mostly soaked. After that I just focused on enjoying the run and keeping a decent pace. The rain was creating small streams going across the streets at any slight incline. I headed out toward the tunnel trail where I hopped back and forth over the water running down the middle of the path. When I got to the upper section of the trail where the mud and water collect, I saw that there was no way to keep my feet dry. After running through the edge of the water flow and feeling the cold water on my feet I was surprised that the cold only lasted for a minute or two at the most. My DryMax trail socks either warmed it or wicked it away from my feet quickly and my feet didn't feel wet at all. These socks are worth every penny.

I sped up going past Kopachuck and down the hill to the Island View store. I turned down Artondale heading back to Ray Nash dr. The fields that I ran past were almost completely flooded which I didn't expect to see. I picked up the pace as much as I could running against the wind and rain on the way to the Arletta store. Once I made the turn toward home at Arletta I saw another runner about 400 meters ahead running up the next hill. I thought it'd be a tough catch but I pushed anyway. I suffered up the first hill, ran quickly down the back and made up almost half the distance by the time I started up the second (longer) climb. I was within about 40 meters of the runner by the time I got to the top of the second hill and then caught (and startled) her 1/10th of a mile later. She had earbuds in her ears and jumped with a gasp when I said "Good Morning" as I was trying to catch my breath. I apologized and picked up the pace to shoot for a sub-1 hr finish. I made it with less than 30 seconds to spare.

I'm working up a list of what worked well and not-so-well for me in 2010 in the areas of running gear, nutrition, and training goes. Look out for that in a few weeks. I'm also (like everyone else) trying to put together a plan for races next year. I don't know how many I'll have time to train for. I'm getting a little push-back on the amount of time I spent training for the 50K races this year. We'll see what I can bargain for.

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