I still don’t have an exact training plan. I know I know. I’m doing okay otherwise. Today I had to stay home until a delivery
showed up. The narrowest window they
could give me was sometime before 11. This
was at 8:00. Not a big wait time, but I
really wanted to get my run done before it got too hot again. The thermometer in my car read 95 for the
outside temperature when I drove my kids to the pool….between the projected
high over 100, and the air quality advisory, I knew I wasn’t going to go for a
run. I half thought about going to the
running club and walking the 5K, but I decided it wasn’t going to kill me to
take ‘another’ rest day. I took the kids
to the pool at my in-laws house. They’re
new swimmers, so I’m not super comfortable letting them be while I get my work
out in (not that I would leave them, but I thought I might swim laps- or my version of them since, as I’ve said
before, I’m not much of a swimmer.)
After we got in the water and I realized that their lessons really are
making them better swimmers, I swam mini-laps the short way across the in ground
pool just on the other side of the shallow end rope. The boys were right on the other side and both
can touch so it worked. I did try to ‘crawl’
but I suck. Really. So I did the side stroke for a few
minutes. It takes a LOT more of my leg
and stomach muscles than I thought it would.
My quads were a little sore this morning, and between that and just the
general cleaning I did yesterday; I am counting it that it wasn’t a rest
day.
Anyway, I thought I might run long and slow this morning
after taking the kids to summer recreation.
They have a long day there today, so I thought that I could run for an
hour or so, shower (again, I HAD to shower first thing after the sweaty sleep I
had) and head to the sports store to check out hydration belts. I got a phone call that I had to be home for
a delivery, so getting a run in right at 9:00 just wasn’t going to happen, even
though I suspected that “before 11” would end up meaning 11:00. But I couldn’t take the chance of leaving the
house, since my husband needs the delivery.
Guess it’s a good day for hill repeats.
There’s a nice little (so I thought) hill in front of my house, so I
consulted all of the training plans can’t seem to make a decision on, as well
as my ‘competitive runner’s handbook’ on my kindle to read about repeating a
hill, and it seemed like the one in front of the house would fit the bill. I left a note on the door for the delivery
person to please wait for 5 minutes that I would be right back (since I figured
I would see the truck show up if I was staying in front of the house) and I
headed out at 9:30. I ran 5 minutes out
and 5 minutes back for a warm up…it ended up being about a mile. Then I started right in on that hill. The top was further up the road than I
imagined. It’s actually a bit of a
double hill…a rather good incline right past my driveway, then a short flat
stretch, then another incline. I passed
the second crest, jogged a few steps, and jogged back down, past my driveway, a
bit more on the flat, turn around and repeat.
I tried to keep my 5K race pace while going up the hill. I’m not sure I did, since I didn’t time myself
and I have no idea what the time should be for that anyway, but I definitely
was at race pace effort. I repeated for
3 times total, paused, drank a bunch of my nuun laced water. Psyched myself up by telling myself that I
was half way done. Sigh. Started again and thought about bailing at
the 5th one. I could have, I
think, since the handbook suggested 3-4 for my level of running, but I had
decided on six before I headed out the door and I decided I should push through
since I wasn’t puking or passed out and just do it or I would feel like I sold
myself short. And I did it. And it felt great! Then I finished out by jogging five minutes
down the road (flat) and five minutes back.
I think I probably covered 2.5 miles today, but more importantly, I quit
procrastinating on hill repeats, and all in all I didn’t hate them as much as I
remember. When I was in high school our
coach would send us to a monster hill to do suicide repeats (the last person in
line sprints to the front…on the hill.), and I was never any good at passing
the line of girls in front of me, and even though there were other girls it was
hard for, I FELT like I should be able to pass the line of girls, and I always
felt a sense of defeat when were done.
Today though, I feel exhilarated!
I will do them again; just like I’ll do the strides again I did last
week. My plan is to definitely do speed
work at least once a week. Probably just
once a week I suspect. Today’s wasn’t
exactly planned, but it definitely fit into what I needed to get done. I also think that since I’m so close to home
(I can see my house the whole time except the warm up and cool down) I think I
could modify the work out to do while the kids are home as well, by warming up
a mile on the treadmill, hill for repeats then cool down on the mill again. I know I could do repeats on the treadmill,
but I don’t want to use it while the weather is nice. I know I will be using it from probably
October through at least March…that’s a long stretch indoors.
Today: 2.5
This week: 10.5
July: 42.1
Most importantly: I’m
happy!!
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